Paper Moon
by Sophie Anne Fields
Summary: 3 years later Lily is flourishing at St. Mungo's, but after she meets a muggle and her visions return with a vengeance she questions where she belongs. Scorpius loves being an Auror, especially with Roxanne Weasley as his partner. He might love adventure, but he wonders when it will be time to settle down. Will these two get back together or will their love be only a paper moon?
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I am intrigued what you all will think of this chapter, so please let me know. It's set three years in the future, and some of Lily's time at Hogwarts is told through flashbacks. Scorpius' story will be in the next one. The title comes from the song It's Only a Paper Moon, you can look it up if you want a better idea.**

* * *

At 2 in the afternoon on a weekday, St. Mungo's should have slowed down. There was no such luck. It was even worse as Lily was stuck at the intake desk, not only managing that, but managing the Potions distribution as well. Many organizations under the Ministry required them, including Healers from places such as Hogwarts. She sighed as she attempted to catch up on the paper work, files were floating in the air, a quill was scratching her signature as she attended to boxing up vials for the Auror in front of her.

"I know I was supposed to be here an hour ago, but one of the guys' partners was sick and he needed back-up—you know how strict the Ministry is with going in pairs…" The man huffed, he was dressed in dark grey robes, the silver badge gleaming in the fluorescent lighting.

"The potions are prepared for shipment, I just need you to sign." Lily floated the clipboard towards the man as she sent a paper plane flying from her desk.

"Merlin, Lils, you are the best you know that." He gave her a grin as he took the quill from her and scrawled his name on the dotted line. "Why do they have you working desk duty? Usually I'm not so lucky with what Healer I get."

Lily laughed as she got up from her seat and handed him the box, taking the clipboard back. "Someone was needed to cover this shift and I didn't get off from my other one too long ago. The rules can be bent as long as I'm not working directly with another patient."

"Like when they stick me on desk duty after a grave yard shift."

"Exactly." She nodded and sat back down in her seat. "Have a good day."

"What time does your shift get over?"

"Eight, but I was promised early release for good behavior."

"Listen, a bunch of us are going out for drinks, we just ended a big case to celebrate. I'm sure you'd be welcome there."

'Us' meant a group of Aurors. Usually when one of them invited her and told her she'd be welcomed it was due to her brother or father, but the subtext was different this time. "I can't, I'm going straight to bed and I have a shift later tomorrow, but it sounds like fun."

"How many times do I have to invite you before you accept?"

"Boyd, I am going to tell you the truth." She sighed. "If you change your job, look me up, but until then I don't date Aurors." Her tone was steady and face serious, all actions hovering around her momentarily suspended. "If you've met my father you should be able to guess pretty quickly why."

"He's never in the office anymore," Boyd answered, eyebrows knitting together in confusion as he held the box.

"Exactly, now leave before Ella wonders why I'm talking with you instead of doing my job." All of the tasks started again, working in a frenzy around Lily. They only paused once the Auror apparated away and she took a deep breath. She'd kept true to word with Scorpius and focused on her schooling, now on her career. It more to prove to herself that she could be independent, could thrive without asking anybody for help. It was easier than she thought, especially with having her family being not far away. When she first moved into her own apartment, there were some weeks that she spent more nights couch surfing at her relatives place than there, just because she didn't feel quite comfortable living alone after spending so long surrounded by so many people.

Time passed quickly as she had to categorize files, organize potions, update patient files, and organize intake. Tonight she was looking forward to taking a shower, ordering take out, and collapsing in her bed by nine, nine-thirty. Tomorrow she wouldn't get up until ten or so…It would be a luxury she hadn't had in a while, but one that could happen because she was due at work until five the next day. She sighed at that, closing her eyes and letting the noise wash over.

"Excuse me, Miss, am I disturbing you?" a voice asked…a rather familiar one.

Lily's eyes popped open quickly and saw none other than Jordi Zabini lounging against the counter, a lazy grin across his face. "Oh my Godric!" she exclaimed and practically sprinted around and embraced him tightly. "What are you doing in London? Merlin, Uncle Charlie told Grandma that he couldn't leave until late December at the _earliest_." She clung tightly to her friend who felt so different than he did three years ago at Hogwarts. His arms were now solid and muscular, hands calloused, and face heavily tanned from the time he spent in the sun. He'd gone to Uni after Hogwarts pursuing a degree in Care of Magical Creatures. So, when the reserve Charlie worked at offered him a paid internship and the chance to finish his degree in a remote location, he jumped at the chance.

"Do I look like your Uncle Charlie?" he teased, mouth forming that familiar grin.

"No…" She shook her head and bit her lip. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you, too." He hugged her tighter and Lily nearly felt her eyes prick with tears. After she broke up with Scorpius three years ago, of all the people that she came close with was Jordi. She doesn't know what started it, but one memory in particular stuck out.

 _The wind whipped around Lily as she sat in the bleachers on the pitch staring at the letter in her lip. Thick letterhead from St. Mungo's and her name in swirling handwriting. She couldn't bring herself to break the seal. If this didn't work out she'd have no other plans for the future._

 _"_ _Potter, practice doesn't start for a good half hour, what are you doing out here? Doesn't William need you to write some schedules or tell first years they're out of uniform?" Jordi climbed the bleachers with ease for before sitting next to her, leaning comfortably on the bleacher behind him. "What's going?"_

 _"_ _My letter from St. Mungo's, my future's in this envelope."_

 _"_ _Dramatic much?" he asked. "Come on, open it. We can sneak into the kitchens after practice for some treacle pudding in celebration if it's good news. If it's bad, you can show me the secret passageway to Hogsmeade, we can get some cheap fire whiskey or Mead and sit wherever prefects are least likely to patrol." He gave her one of his smile's and leaned a little closer. "Listen, if it gives you the confidence boost to open that letter, I overheard Professor Wolfe that you were neck in neck with a Ravenclaw for best in class, isn't that William?"_

 _"_ _Yeah." Lily's smile was shaky. "Thanks." She broke the seal and withdrew the letter. He watched intently as she took a sharp intake of breath and clutched it tightly. "Jordi!" She leaned over and practically tackled him with a hug. "I got in! I did it!"  
Jordi's face broke into a wide smile as he reciprocated the hug, holding Lily just as tight as she held him. When they pulled away she jumped to her feet. "No studying tonight. First, I'm going to help your Quidditch team kick Hufflepuff's arse, then we're going to celebrate."_

 _"_ _Fire whiskey?" Jordi asked, part hopeful, part teasing._

 _"_ _No, you'll just have to find out." She gave him a wink before practically bounding down the steps._

"Why are you at St. Mungo's, I'm sure your parents want to see you."

"Well, they're the only people I told, but they aren't expecting me until tomorrow." He pulled away and leaned against the counter again. Lily noticed the satchel at his shoulder. If it was anybody else, she would think it was expanded, but she knew that Jordi never took much anymore. "Nott wants me to meet him for a late lunch, when do you get off?"

"Eight, but I might be able to convince my boss to let me leave a bit earlier."

"We can go to that muggle bar you like and then I could crash at your place?" He looked up at her with wide eyes and that ridiculous smirk of his.

"Of course, you can even help me get the couch transfigured." There was a joking tone to that and a mischievous glint in her eyes, but Jordi's smile faltered a bit. "It was a joke. Now let me get back to work."  
Lily watched him leave, a smile still on her face as the work flew by—literally. She answered notes sent to her and was busy concentrating when she heard footsteps in front of her. "Hello, Madame Sanderson," she greeted, looking at the Head Healer.

"I told you to drop the titles, its Ella, Lily." She held out her hand for a file and Lily made a small gesture causing it to float over. "You've been working on the wandless magic, it'll come in handy."

"When you get stuck at this desk, you do anything to make the time fly by."

"Stuck at that desk? I didn't realize that it was such a burden, what with your visitors." She smirked. "But seriously, I know how young Aurors can be, so I'm not going to say anything about Boyd, but it's bad enough with your family dropping in, I don't want friends too." She looked down at the file in her hand and then up. "You've only been here for six months Lily and you're already flourishing, I don't want anything compromising that. Understood?" She gave the young witch a stern look. "Don't let anything jeopardize your future, things like Boyd and partying with your friends can be done on your own time."

"Of course," Lily said, reaching for another file. "But you should trust my judgement."

"I didn't just see them visit, I have ears everywhere. I'm proud of you." She gave Lily an approving look. "And you can get off a half-hour early, I know how hard it can be to be with friends with someone at such a long distance."

"Thank you." Before anything more could be said, Ella disappeared and Lily went back to work, just as hard as before she was interrupted.

* * *

When seven thirty came, Lily excused herself to the break room to get changed. Even though the robes they wore covered their clothing completely, they still had to dress professionally beneath it. She shed the pencil skirt and blouse for a pair of jeans paired with a shirt from James' team. When she exited the room, she saw Jordi talking with Ella, making her laugh. "You ready?" he asked when he saw her get closer.

"Thanks again, Ella."

"Enjoy yourself."

Jordi slipped an arm over her shoulder and began relying her a tale told by Nott, using his free hand to gesture. "Want to apparate there?"

"You have the honor." By that Lily meant that it was silly for them both to apparate, but she didn't want to be responsible for side-along for the two of them. "How long has it been since you had proper English food?"

"Luckily too short," he said. "But you're probably starved."

"I'm not drinking on an empty stomach." She pushed through the door to walk into the pub that held mostly muggles. The bartender, though, was aware of the popularity with the magical community due to his wizard brother. "Hey, Rob, two pints of my usual, a burger and basket of fries, please."

"Alright? How'll you be paying?"

In the world of debit cards this question was not too unusual anymore, but he would take magical money if Lily didn't have anything else. "I have the cash, don't worry." She gave him a wink before sitting down across from Jordi in the booth he managed to snag. She leaned against the back of it, one leg stretched on the bench as she waited for the food to come. "So, you never did tell me why you're visiting."

"The ministry department in charge of the reserves wants to reassign me once my degree is finished."

"Would you be coming back home?"

"No, they want to start up a new reserve, they're thinking Finland if the location in Turkey doesn't pan out."

"Those are both so far away," Lily said. "I always thought…"

"That I'd be coming back to the UK? Me too, but I have to go where the work is." He shrugged, then reached out to grab her hand. "Lily, we both agreed…"

"I know." The food came and Lily took a drink of her beer, trying to stay present in the now, but she couldn't help but thinking about them…

 _Lily was sure she had never heard so much noise coming from Slytherin. For the second year in a row they had won the cup. "Go…" Simone urged, shoving her towards the stairs with an exasperated tone. She had spent most of her game on her feet and yelling into her voice grew hoarse. Still, she spilled onto the pitch with the rest of the team. Before she knew what hit her, a pair of arms closed around her—hot and sweaty._

 _"_ _Good job—"_

 _The congratulations was cut short by a sloppy kiss on her cheek. It wasn't romantic or protective, just…there. A kiss between friends she told herself. "The team was brilliant."_

 _"_ _Couldn't have done it without you." He grinned. "We'll celebrate tonight."_

 _"_ _I'll tell you the details later."_

"Besides, we'd never work together. I'll admit being with you is fun, but…Could you imagine either of us getting married any time soon?" He asked looking at her. "I didn't come here to talk about the future, I came here to see my closest friend because this is the first time I could make it."

"You can sleep at my place, but maybe we shouldn't…"

"Yeah, that would be better." He avoided looking at her before grabbing a few fries and eating them.

Lily wished that things could have gone a bit differently for them, but Jordi was right… they were just wrong with each other, even if at times they could seem so _right_. They'd been each other's first. It might have been awkward with limbs tangling together, unsure touches, and kisses in places they'd never felt before, but neither of them had regretted it. It was before the both of them started school and Lily ended up at his flat somehow, his flat mate gone for the night. Their…affair, if you want to call it that…lasted for a few months, but it wasn't serious or committed. They saw each other on the weekends, slept together, and snogged in semi-public places.

"So, why don't you tell me the latest rumors? I've seen enough about James in the magazines, what with him transferring to Puddlemore, but what's going on with Al?"

Lily sighed and leaned back against the booth again. "I really liked Vince," she complained. "Then he had to go and get transferred to _Germany_ and had the balls to ask Al to come with him. The only liaison position open was in the accounting office." She rolled his eyes. "Could you imagine Al doing that?"

"When was that?"

"Couple months ago, now he spends all his time with Score and Roxie." She rolled her eyes at that.

"Still the dynamic duo?"

"Dad says they're the best pair in the department. Al's been bouncing around, trying to find someone that works for him. They all think he's too quiet, too serious and they don't let Dad have a say in placing him with someone." She rolled her eyes and took another drink of her beer before starting in on her burger. "How's your research going? I know you love talking about your job."

"It's good, great really. The dragons can be nasty beasts until you get to know them, but there's this Welsh Green that's taking a liking to me. The heads of the reserve think that since I'm so good with him, maybe I should try other animals. Winged horses for example, like hippogriffs."

"Hippogriffs would be better suited for Finland."

"I know, but if I was sent to Turkey it would be a completely different project. I'm not too excited about it. More dragons, different breeds, worse temperament." He sighed and ate more fries before pushing away the tray and draining his beer. "We keep on talking about depressing stuff, we need more alcohol."

"Alcohol is a depressant," Lily reminded him.

"Shh…I don't want any of that Healer talk tonight, I just want Lily, alright?" He leaned across the table and patted her shoulder before raising his arm in the air. Rob the bartender was reluctant to give them shots, but Lily assuaged his fears that they both were—fairly—sober, they'd just had a beer each after all.

They drank slowly, ordering more food to graze on and glasses of water in between their drinks. Lily wanted to linger as long as possible, but soon she knew that it would be best to go back to her place. She was getting tipsy, head sort of fuzzy, and glad that Jordi was with her. As a witch, she hardly felt threatened walking down muggle streets late at night, but when she was tipsy and heading into a place that wizards sometimes frequented made her apprehensive at times.

"You know where my flat is, right?" she questioned as they settled the bill and headed out into the night. It was just a few blocks to her place from the pub. She linked her arm with Jordi's and pressed against him. It was late summer, but the night was still chilled. "This feels an awful lot like that Halloween night we were together…It was the last time before we…" She stopped, they were outside her building. Lily twisted to face him. "Want to relive that night?"

"Not with both of us like this," he answered, a hand running through her curls. Despite the words they both leaned in, mouths crashing against each other. Before he knew what happened, Lily began to laugh against his mouth and caused Jordi to do the same.

"We're better as friends."

"Yeah, but I'm still sleeping in your bed."

The pair managed its way up the stairs to her apartment on the third floor. On their way up, Lily quite literally bumped into a man she had seen before. "Sorry," she said, with a bit of a laughter in her voice.

"No problem…" He looked to Lily to Jordi. "Are the two of you alright?'

"Perfectly fine." Jordi hooked an arm around Lily's waist and gave the man his best grin. "Night, officer." He gave a mock salute before Lily rolled her eyes and tugged him away.

"What was that about?"

"Didn't you see his shiny buttons and uniform, you got a muggle cop on your floor." He laughed again as Lily muttered a spell and the door popped open. "Nothing is sexier than a woman who knows her magic."

Lily rolled her eyes as they separated. He'd been here before, but she gave him a brief tour, opening doors that he needed to get into with a flick of the hand. They both changed quickly, or rather Lily did, and Jordi threw aside his pants and slipped on a ratty t-shirt. She fell asleep pressed up against him and let herself enjoy it.

* * *

The next morning Lily woke up with a pounding headache, her waist pinned down by the heavy arm of Jordi. "I need to get up, you big lug," she whispered, running a hand through his hair. He'd let it grow a bit longer since going to Romania. "I make the best hangover potion around." She slipped out of bed and grabbed her wand from the nightstand to get started on breakfast. As she concocted a potion on a small burner, she drank a glass of water in hopes it would dull the pounding ache in her skull. Once the potion was well into brewing she leaned against the counter and lazily began to cook up bacon, eggs, and toast. Greasy food usually made her feel better after a hangover and knew Jordi would appreciate.

"Potter, are you coming back-" Jordi stopped and surveyed the kitchen. "I should marry you, really…"

Lily rolled her eyes and murmured a few simple spells to start up a pot of coffee. "We should take this first, works the best."

"Is this your patented hangover potion? Better than a pepper up one?" He asked as she ladled it into a shot glass.

"Just drink it." She took her's in one gulp, scowling a bit at the taste before whipping her wand again and beginning to plate the food. That was when she heard a knock at the door. "Finish this for me, alright?"

"Yup." He popped the 'p' as she walked to the door.

Lily walked to the door running a hand through her hair. She hoped it was her brother showing up unannounced because she desperately needed a shower. "Hello?" she said opening the door. Her memory was a bit fuzzy from last night, but he appeared to be the man from the hallway, looking a bit tired, still in uniform, but a bit rumpled. "Can I help you?"

"This was in my mail box downstairs." He held out a plain package.

"My book!" she exclaimed. It was on muggle medicine techniques. "Sorry, it was supposed to be delivered a couple days ago. The company said it should be here."

"Lily?" a voice called. "What's the spell to stop your coffee maker?" Jordi appeared next to her and then took a step back when he saw who was standing in her doorway. "Merlin, I thought it'd be James or—"

"I didn't realize that there were two people living here," he replied warily, taking them both in. Jordi didn't even seem to notice that he wasn't wearing actual pants—or even care if he did realize it.

"There's not," Lily corrected. "It's just me, he's visiting from out of town."

"Oh." He frowned. "Well, I live just down the hall, moved in a few weeks ago. My name's Michael Collins."

"Lily Potter." It was the true test to see if he was truly a muggle and it seemed he was as there was no flicker of recognition in his eye. "This is Jordi Zabini, he's in town for a few days."

"Where did you come from?" the man asked.

"Romania," he answered. "I'm doing some undergrad work at a sanctuary out there." If anything Jordi was bit nervous about the fact that his arms were bare in the short sleeve shirt. He didn't cover them last night because he was with Lily and Nott mainly, but muggles would ask too many questions about the scars, bite marks, bruises and burns.

"It was nice to meet you and thank you for bringing my book." She nodded at that. "If you're just off work you're probably exhausted, so have a good day."  
"Yeah…" He looked a bit perplexed and when he took a step back Lily shut the door.

"Muggles are weird," Jordi muttered as Lily sat down across from him at the breakfast bar, sighing at the overflowing coffee maker. She rolled her eyes as she poured to cups, then floated a towel over to clean it up.

"It was probably the fact that you were still in your underwear and the two of us aren't dressed at ten in the morning."

"I thought it was your _brothers_ ," he explained. "Or Teddy, but Teddy usually doesn't come without Stella or Vicky so I figured it was a safe bet." He looked down at his breakfast and started taking large bites, only punctuated by gulps of coffee. "You're going to have to be careful, you know that right?"

"What are you talking about?" Lily ate slice of bacon, it was cooked a little too long, which always seemed to happen when she used magic.

"You have muggles all around you Lily. I know your parents tried to help you understand the muggle world, but experiencing bits of it is a whole lot different than living inside of it."

Lily looked down at her nearly empty plate. She had lived in the midst of the muggle world for nearly three years—since she had moved into this flat. Still, that was before she knew Michael Collins, an officer that seemed a bit too observant.


	2. Chapter 2

Scorpius had two cups of coffee in his hand with a file tucked under his arm. "Come on, Rox." He set the mug down in front of his partner who looked up beneath her cloud of hair and scowled at him.

"Why do we never get a break? Bloody Al is so busy playing musical partners we have to clean up all his messes."

"It's just paperwork," he said. "And drink the coffee, maybe you'll feel better."

" _No_ , Merlin, Score, don't you want a life? We had to work overtime last night, come in early this morning…I was supposed to go out with Dom, but now I'm stuck in this bloody office until closing because _someone_ had to get our overtime approved." She took a big swig of coffee before finding an elastic to hold her curls back with. Scorpius handed her the file and she took a quill out of her desk drawer, frowning the entire time she filled it out.

Scorpius busied himself with his own work, occasionally looking up at Roxie who threatened to hex him if she caught him looking at her. Their desks were directly across from each other, like all the other partners in their division. Al was the only one with an empty desk facing his. His desk looked the most lived in, though, with pictures of his family, a disaster of a mug made by Lucy from her muggle-artist days, and pictures that Stella drew him. There was even a small picture of Vince still stuck to his desk he couldn't bear to take off. He was out today as backup on a mission with another pair. It was hard to look at Al's desk, the same with Teddy's or Harry's office. Each one had a homage to family that loved and cared for them. Score didn't even have a picture of his parents, just one of him and Roxie at the division's Christmas party a year ago. He wouldn't have even had if Roxie hadn't put it on his desk herself declaring that she looked fantastic so it should stay.

"Oy, Malfoy, if I have to be working you can't be spacing off." Roxie punctuated this by throwing a piece of paper at his head.

"Sorry, just thinking."

"Dreaming about your future family? I'd offer to marry you, but I don't fancy living with you and you know Ministry policy. I'd probably be reassigned to a partner I'd curse in the first day and get stuck on probation."

"Don't be absurd," Scorpius said. "You'd last a week."

"You better have a damn good ring, hypothetically speaking."

"The best, and hypothetically speaking, you can't wear your Auror robes to the wedding. Mum would expect something traditional."

"I don't want to know." It was Harry, appearing behind Roxie's desk. "Are the two of you getting any work done?"

"Here you go, _sir_." Roxie gave her uncle a smirk as she passed him one of the files and then reached across to hand him a stack of Score's paper work. "Can I leave? I don't need the overtime and I'd like to actually be able to go home at a decent hour."

Harry nodded in affirmation before going to one of the other desks to collect more files. Roxie was packing up her things and letting her curls down before reaching for a tube of lipstick. "Do you want to come with?" she asked Score. "We can go to that new wizarding club I've been dying to try. If you flash your badge you get complimentary appetizers, because they think you're undercover." She grinned. "Besides, Dom going to dinner with her boyfriend since I cancelled."

"No, I still want to finish some stuff up and I told Al that I'd see that muggle movie with him if we got done about the same time."

"That lame one about the group of people that run around and save muggles?" Roxie snorted. "I guess the future Mrs. Malfoy will have to wait another night."

"If you're that dead set against going alone I'm sure Lucy or Lily would go with you."

"Lucy with Lorcan as always and little birdy told me that Lily will be busy all night."

"Working?" he asked, barely glancing up.

"No, Zabini's back in town. Honestly, she turns down every guy _but_ him." Roxie rolls her eyes. "If he was chasing after dragons with Uncle Charlie then they'd probably have two red headed children."

Scorpius looked up to glare at her.

"Sore spot, I know." Roxie finished gathering up her stuff, slipping off her robe and waving a wand to straighten up the clothes she had beneath. She messed up her hair a bit before unbuttoning her blouse a bit lower. "I'll have to change won't I?" She scowled at her trousers. "These are a pain to transfigure." She gave patted his shoulder before disappearing in what seemed like a whirlwind.

Scorpius worked diligently as the remaining Aurors filtered out of the room. Harry was still working, he had told anybody that they were welcome to stay as Ginny was on assignment and he was using it as a chance to catch up on some back work. He'd probably find his father in his office too, him mum had been complaining about how much he had been working lately.

There was handful of people still at their stations when Al came through the door alone. He ignored everyone and went straight to his father's office. Scorpius looked up and saw him hand him a file and gesture wildly. Harry leaned back in his chair, nodded, and steepled his fingers. By the end of it, though, he was pinching the bridge of his nose and immediately reaching for the phone in his office. The one connection he had to the muggle world at the Ministry.

"Bad day?" Scorpius asked, as he watched his friend head to his desk to sit down. When he didn't respond he walked over and saw him taking deep breaths, palms flat on his desk.

"Score, I thought you'd have went home by now." His voice was quiet, eyes not meeting him.

"Roxie wanted to leave to check out this new club. She invited me, but I didn't feel like going." He shrugged his shoulders. "I was going to ask you to catch that movie with me, but I don't feel up to it now."

"She let slip that Zabini was back in town?" Al questioned, and didn't even look to see Scorpius' gesture of affirmation. "As her brother the relationship makes me cringe. At least with you I could _pretend_ there wasn't a physical aspect."

"Thanks, mate." Scorpius rolled his eyes, an action that made Albus laughed. He may have been able to resist the action with Lily, but Roxie did it even more than her.

"I don't like to drink alone, want to come to the Phoenix with me?"

"I don't know…" It was wizarding brewery that was relatively new and situated close to the Ministry offices.

"Malfoy, you and I both know you can't cook to save your life and you've probably ordered take out the last five days."

"Three," he corrected.

"Going out to eat is slightly less pathetic, come on." Al gets to his feet and opens the drawer to take out his wallet and exchange it for his badge before depositing his robe in there. When he goes home he tries to leave every trace of Auror behind. It was something that Harry did, Scorpius knew that much. If his father came home still dressed in his robes or with a badge, something bad had happened or he was anticipating something bad to happen. Some days Al does forget his badge or something, but Scorpius can always tell how hard the day has been for his friend by how deliberate he makes this action.

Not much later the two of them are sitting at a table, each with an order of fish and chips and a pitcher of beer to split. Albus hasn't said anything since they've gotten the food, just steadily drained his glass before refilling it, stopping only for a few bites of food. The bar is busy, as always, but it's there are only a handful of good, basic bars in London that cater to solely to wizards. Sure, there are the clubs and ones that are for specific clientele, but none that you can just order a beer, sit in a booth and pay with sickles.

"So, are you going to tell me what happened or do I have to bug Boyd and Nate for the info."

"It wasn't bad, just… We've been having trouble lately with muggle-wizarding interactions. There have been spikes in magical usage around muggles and more attacks on barriers that have been used to shield the muggles from seeing our buildings." He sighed. "Dad's having a hard time, the Ministry is running on a strict separationist policy."

"And your dad's an integrationist," Scorpius finished. Lately this was a political issue that was creating the most divides, departments in the Ministry were suffering because of this ongoing debate. Separationist wanted things like they had always been, keep the wizarding world secret and magical beings away from muggles—the claimed it wasn't superiority like Voldemort and pure bloods, just the simple fact it would be hard for them to understood a whole other world and that some may try to exploit or persecute magical beings. Integrationist wanted to slowly meld the two worlds, send young children to muggle schools before shipping them off to magical boarding schools. Live in muggle neighborhoods, learn to use and understand their technology. Their end goal was creating a transparent world decades in the future.

"I hate politics, I just want to do my job, but…." He clutches his glass so tight Scorpius is glad he doesn't have some sort of heightened strength or it would be shattered by now. "Obliviating memories, that's what I did today. It doesn't get any easier and then when you see their faces you feel like such a monster."

"Merlin…" He rubs his hand over his face. Roxie and him don't do anything like that, they do investigations into dark magic, trying to puzzle things together before they send more experienced Aurors out. When they are out in the field they work with parents that have kids who are starting to show their magic, mostly muggle parents or muggle-wizard parents. "Does your dad know about?"

"Why do you think he's gone at so many meetings? He explains to people until he's blue in the face that it's exactly like Voldemort all over again. He told me that people used to be scared of just saying the name and—"

"Fear of the name increases fear of person," Scorpius recited, something his father told him years ago.

"Yeah, if this is the only contract with the muggle world we have then eventually it's going to bite us in the arse."

Scorpius didn't respond to that, just poured himself another glass of beer before Albus could finish off the pitcher. He didn't particularly like the alcohol, he hated it when his head got fuzzy, but it was better than Albus starting on a third one. "I'm going to get some water, want one?"

Albus looks up at him with a lazy grin. "You know, Roxie is right, you worry too much."

"That's a yes." He goes to the bar and leans against the counter. The bartender is at the other end making complicated drinks for three witches that look barely legal.

"You with him?" a man asks as leans against the counter besides Scorpius, head tilting in the direction of his friend. He's tall, which for Scorpius is saying something as he's probably a good head taller without the lithe build he has.

"Al? Yeah…" he answers warily and hopes this isn't some media ploy. He hasn't had issues with magazines or the press in ages, but he wouldn't put it past them to start up again because there's nothing better to report on or a story they want to bury with some sensationalized piece.

"I wouldn't peg you for his type, but it's good to see him with someone else." The man gives him an encouraging smile. "Steve, I'm—"

"Pardon me for interrupting, but I think there has been a bit of miscommunication. I came with Al here, after work, but the two of us are not together. At least not in the way I believe your implying."

"Shit, sorry man, I should have known, I mean—"

"I don't look like Vince, I know." He rolled his eyes and silently cursed Roxie after doing it.

"I just thought, I mean I saw the two of you together and…Wait, you're his friend he talks about, the other Auror."

Scorpius nodded.

"I met him through Vince, haven't seen him since the transfer."

Is that what Albus referred to it as? They didn't talk about, Scorpius had tried, like had all those years ago with Julian, like how Al had done after break up with Lily. "Go talk to him."

"Yeah, I will, but…" He gave Scorpius a smirk. "I don't know a whole lot about you, but if you'd like, I'd like to talk to you sometime."

Every part of Scorpius protested to the offer, told him to say no, but there was a tiny voice in his head that caused him to look at Steve and something that made him want to say yes. "We'll see," he responded, not knowing exactly where the words came from.

"Ask Al how to get a hold of me if you're serious." His tone had none of the playfulness it held before but a bit of confusion. Panic welled in Scorpius' chest, he probably was joking, trying to ease the tension. What the hell had come over him? "Relax, did you come to get water?" He gestured at the bartender who looked a bit pleased to get away from the witches. Scorpius had a pitcher floated to him before he could say another word.


	3. Chapter 3

Jordi was back in Romania when Lily left her apartment a week later. It three, she had a few hours before she had to be at work and she was starving. With working over time she hadn't had a proper meal in long time, she hadn't even bothered to order takeout, just had tea with biscuits or some makeshift pasta dish. This is why she was heading to the diner that was just down the street. As she made her way towards the stairs, the door swung open and she almost ran into the man—Michael Collins, she reminded herself—again.

"Good afternoon," he greeted stiffly, still dressed in his uniform and looking a bit worse for the wear.

Lily gave him a warm smile, but something about the way he was carrying himself triggered her empathetic side. "I was just heading to get some food, and I've been eating alone way too much lately, would you like to come with me?" She put on her best 'this is an honest offer, trust me' face that she could and hoped she didn't sound like Boyd when he asked her out for drinks.

"Thanks," he responded, stopping in his tracks with eyes that widened a bit. "But no thanks."

Lily recognized that tone and rolled her eyes. "I don't know whether to be offended or impressed."

"Excuse me?" He raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

"There are a few reasons you turned me down, if it's because your tired after a long shift, go ahead, but if it's because you saw me with Jordi you got another thing coming. First off, we're not dating. Second off, it's not really your business. Third off, if you're turning me down because you think I'm dating him and you're passing judgement on me then I guess we can return to being just neighbors." She moved to turn again, but his voice stopped her.

"Wait, it is a bit of the first reason you stated and the last, but…"

"I wait to get drunk until the third date, you don't' have to worry," she teased. "Besides, I meant it as a friendly gesture, quite frankly you look awful."

"Thanks, but maybe I could take a raincheck on the offer. I want to get changed."

Lily's shoulders slumped a bit. Of course muggles couldn't transfigure their clothes or do it with a wave of a wand. "I'll wait, I'm in no hurry, I don't go to work for a few hours."

"Oh." He looked a bit surprised at that and Lily felt a bit bad painting him in a corner like that. "Give me five minutes."

Lily leaned against the wall and glanced down at her watch. It was a proper watch, a wizard one. She was surprised, though, when he arrived four minutes later dressed much like something James would wear. "That was fast," she commented. Scorpius took forever getting ready, and Albus took his sweet time. James and Jordi both took ages just because they had to perfect that casual look, purposefully messing everything up…Well, that's what Jordi _used_ to do. Now it took him forever to find something that covered his scars.

"Sorry?" He looked a bit perplexed as they walked toward the stairs, Lily leading the way.

"Oh, it's just… Never mind." It immediately comes to her that this will be a challenge, the two of them are perfect strangers, something she has not encountered in years. Even when she went to St. Mungo's she knew people through her parents or their siblings if she hadn't met them before. The wizarding world was impossibly small.

"So, what do you do that you work odd hours?" he questioned when they hit the lobby of the building.

"Nurse," she answered quickly.

"Oh." The sound he made was as though he was pleasantly surprised.

"I don't if I should be flattered or offended." She ran a hand through her hair. It was loose and needed to be pulled back before she went to work.

"You just look young."

She looked him over. Michael looked a lot like her father in the photos of his younger years. Darkened skin under the eyes, messy hair, slight stubble around his chin, and premature lines starting to form. Despite the tired look, he was handsome with his curled hair and warm eyes that reminded her of honey. "You're not exactly ancient." Lily knew she was better at hiding it, or had gotten better at. She tried to sleep at least eight hours, forced herself to eat something when she got off work, and did her best compartmentalize everything. "But I get what you're saying. I've only been working in the hospital for about six months."

"I went straight to the academy after I graduated. I've been doing this since I was 19, almost five years."

Lily wanted to know what her father looked like after five years. James hadn't even come along yet, it was just him and her mum who was still a Quidditch player at that time. "You'd always wanted to be in law enforcement?" They had arrived at the diner and Lily paused long enough to let herself in, a bell attached to the door alerting the workers of their presence. She waved at the man behind the counter and gave him a smile, he was the owner and she'd been coming her since she moved into her flat. He gestured at the menus after she held up two fingers.

"Yeah." He took the laminated sheet from her. "I mean when I was little I had a stint of wanting to be a superhero, then I thought it would be cool to be a vet and that lasted for about three seconds. By the time I was a teenager I had my mind decided."

Lily's smile was turning brittle as she slid into a booth across from him. She looked down at the menu, pretending to concentrate, but it wasn't working.

"What's that look? Have something against cops? I saw the way your friend looked at me that night in the hallway."

"I have nothing against the profession, just the people I love getting injured." She set the menu down and looked straight at him. "I was five the first time I remember my mum getting notified that my dad was in the hospital. Seven when he didn't come home when he was supposed to, he showed up at some awful hour…" She looked at the table. "I was ten when I was woken up in the middle of the middle of the night to go to the hospital to see my brother." Teddy's actual relation to her would be much too hard to explain to a stranger

"I don't quite follow."

"You could say law enforcement is my family business. Two out of the three of my brothers are in it, my dad does it, my uncle used to, one of my other uncles works in the office, my cousin does it…Do I need to continue?"

"I…"

"Forget I said anything, this was supposed to be a friendly dinner together, not me spilling out my life story." She sets the menu down and smiles broadly at the owner when he comes to take the order. "My usual, with a tea, as strong as you got, alright? I'm working late."

"Don't you mean early?" he teased.

"Semantics." She waved her hand. "Meet me neighbor, I convinced him to come with me, see I'm not eating alone."

"I was hoping you'd bring by one of your brothers you're always talking about. Like to meet the men that were brave enough to survive growing up with you."

"Flattery will get you nowhere without my dinner."

"Are you always this cheeky?" he questions, but then turns to Michael to take his order. The two of them are left alone after he delivers their drinks, tea for Lily and water for him.

"I know you moved into the flat not long ago, but you should start coming in here. Pete's a good guy, open fairly late, and he's always willing to talk." She drips a few drops of milk into her cup before blowing on it and taking a drink. "It's good to find places that make you feel good." She smiles lazily as she sets the mug down. "He was good to talk to when I first moved into the flat. Freaked me out living alone."

"Really?" he asks, there is genuine surprise in his eyes.

"Well, yeah, the closest I got to living alone was when I got a single room for being Head Girl."

"Single room…you went to boarding school?"

Another thing that surprises him. Lily swallows and wishes their food would get here. How much can she explain without telling him about the other parts? "Sort of a family tradition." She shrugs, trying to make it look like no big deal. Muggles don't usually ship off all their kids to the same school unless they have a lot of money.

Their food comes and Lily manages to clamp her mouth shut about her life. Instead, she manages to get him to talk about his life. He tells her what school he went, his friends on the force, funny stories from his job, and then meaningless stuff to fill the silence. Lily is amazed by how much she doesn't know. Bands that sound vaguely familiar, but she's never heard any of their music, or pop culture references to tv shows she's never seen.

The dinner is winding down when the door to the diner opens. Lily looks to see and her mouth drops open before she sets her fork on the table. "Daphne?" she asks, already twisting her body. The woman turns and smiles at her before rushing over.

"Lily!" She holds open her arms and the two hug.

"What are you doing here?" She settles back down into the booth as she looks over her old roommate. The robe she's wearing can barely pass as muggle attire and only does due to the fact that she's wearing one of the newer styles with tight sleeves that stop at the forearm, light fabric and a fitted bodice. The color is pale green without any hints of shimmer or swirling patterns that are in style.

"True wanted to see his parents, but right now we're staying with his older sister, I promised I'd cook." She let out a laugh at that and when her hand goes up to smooth her hair she sees the diamond ring glint against the light. She's been married to Nott for about two years now. "Who's this?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Michael this is my friend from school Daphne Nott and Daphne this is Michael Collins, he's—"

"Why do you keep everything from me?" She pouted and then leaned over to shake Michael's hand. "It's wonderful to meet, I thought Lily swore off dating, after that disaster with Zabini."

"It wasn't a disaster."

"Sure," she replies with a patronizing smile. "She didn't tell us about him until September and they broke up in November."

"Daphne, you misunderstood—"

"If you're not already dating him you're lying to yourself, he's cute." She gave him a grin. "Where'd you go to school? I don't recall you being at Hogwarts, but we were both in Slytherin…"

"Daphne!"

"I didn't go to…Hogwarts…" He looks lost with his furrowed eyebrows and frown on his face, the school name sounds odd coming out of his mouth.

"Where'd you go to school? Beauxbatons? Durmstrang?" When he doesn't react to any of the names her eyes light up. "Oh! Did you get yourself a foreigner? I bet you went to the American school. Very up and coming, their curriculum—"

"Can you stop talking?" Lily asks, not knowing how to convey to her friend who the man across the table is. "He didn't go to any school you'd know of."

"Oh…" She looks a bit a sad. "I understand, my parents were a bit wary of sending me away." Daphne reaches out to touch his hand.

"I think I should pay and get going, dinner was nice…" He looks at Daphne with worry in his eyes and Lily with…she can't recognize the emotion. "And the two of us really aren't dating, we're just neighbors." His tone is firm and he gets up at that, not giving Lily a second glance.

"What was that about?" Daphne questioned. "Was he homeschooled or something?"

"No," Lily replies softly. "He's not…Michael is a muggle."

"Lily," Daphne says. "That's dangerous."

"No, it's not. I've lived down the hall from muggles for nearly three years."

"It's a lot different dating one or letting one get close to you. Haven't you heard what the ministry wants done with muggles that find out about magic? They obliviate their memories if they're not married or family or at the very least seriously involved."

"I…"

"If it's just a neighbor, then leave it at that, don't get involved in that poor man's life because the second you leave someone is going to swoop in and he'll never even recognize you." Daphne pulled a pocket watch out of the front of her robe and looked down. "I have take-out to pick up, let's meet before True and I head back."

"I'd like that." Lily gets to her feet and hugs her friend. When she pays she takes in the muggle diner owner. If she did magic in front of him would something happen? Was living this far into the muggle world really playing with fire? And even though Daphne and Jordi's warning tugged at something in the back of her mind, she couldn't help but want to ignore it. But then again…Michael might be worth the risk for her, but was it for him?


	4. Chapter 4

Scorpius lets Roxie wrap an arm around his shoulder. For once they're alone in the office, but it's late. Most of the other Aurors have gone home, and all of the department heads are in some meeting, arguing—most likely—about what approach to take with muggles and magic.

"I feel like a monster," he whispers to her. Roxie leans her head on his shoulder and they sit there, on his desk, in silence. "The look in their eyes when you do it." He shudders and Roxie doesn't say anything, she won't, not to anyone. Some of the other Aurors might find it hilarious that Scorpius Malfoy almost threw up after Obliviating a muggles memory of the magical world, she didn't.

"I know they want to keep it secret, but there has to be a better way," Roxie finally says. She had helped him, to make sure he did right, but Scorpius did most of it, he'd always been better at Charms than her and it was a delicate business. "Do you want to come to my place tonight? Pick up some pizza's and watch a movie on my crappy tv?"

"No…" Scorpius looks down at his watch. "I actually was supposed to have a date tonight. We were meeting late, at eight."

"You have plenty of time to make it," Roxie tells him. "Nothing like a pretty girl to take your mind off of things."

"It's…I'm not meeting a girl."

"Oh… _Oh_ …" She laughs. "Well, nothing like a handsome boy to your mind off of things."

"I've been stressing out since I planned it with him. I don't even know…" He ran a hand through his hair. "He was flirting with me—or at least I thought he was—because he thought I was _with_ Al."

Roxie let out a loud laugh at that and patted his shoulder. "Well, you will be going, and _I'll_ help you get ready."

"What if I go on a date and I find out that I…you know men aren't me thing?"

"Then you know for sure." She shrugged. "But something tells me that you are attracted at least a little, if you were the one that asked him." Roxie slid away from Scorpius and got to her feet. "Besides, it'll do you good to spend time with someone that's not me or Al."

"Maybe you could take the same advice."

Roxie rolled her eyes. "If you start in on me about finding someone nice or getting married, I swear I will make Aunt Ginny's hexes look like child's play."

"Honestly, I wasn't going to say anything."

"Grandma Molly is," she muttered, reaching for Scorpius' wrist. "And Uncle Harry said that there were rumors flying around about us. We need to be careful, I don't want another partner."

Scorpius nodded as they walked towards that apparition point. Dating in the same department was allowed as long as they weren't a superior or worked directly alongside you—like he and Roxie did. However, in the Auror department they preferred it if no one dated in house at all. It led to too many problems and someone always ended up getting transferred. As long as people kept their noses out of their business him and Roxie were fine. He found a friend in her, a good, solid friend and he didn't want to screw that up. Not again.

* * *

Steve was already sitting at a table when Scorpius came in. He got up and greeted him with a warm smile and reached out to touch his arm just above the elbow. "Nice to see you again, I almost thought you weren't coming."

"Hard day," he said. "I almost didn't come."

"I'm glad you did." It became clear to Scorpius just how tactile Steve was, he placed his hand in the middle of his shoulder blades as they waited to order. He'd gotten better with touch, didn't see PDA as something to be ashamed of anymore.

After they ordered, they settled back down at a table and waited for their food. "Al never told me what you did."

"Engineering, you know constructing buildings, doing repairs, things like that," he answered. "Right now we're working on a lot of manors, old pure blood houses that families are finally deciding to renovate after the war."

"My mother would be interested in that."

"Right, you're a Malfoy, I forgot." At that their food was brought and Steve's lips curled into a smile as he took a drink of his beer. "I suspect that she would want to keep a lot of the original stuff."

He nodded taking a drink out of his own glass. "She's big on antiques, she would want the house restored back to its original condition." He shook his head and then looked up at him. "I wouldn't wish that upon anybody."

Steve laughed and Scorpius turned the conversation away from his family. Right now he'd require a lot more alcohol in his system to talk about his mother when he already felt like shit. He liked Steve, maybe as more than a friend. It was easy to tell that his hands were used to hard work, they were rough in a way that would never be completely smooth again and they felt nice against Scorpius'. He also was quick to laugh, keep things lighthearted. Being with him it was easy to see how Albus had made fast friends with him.

"You know, I feel like I've been talking an awful lot about myself. They only thing I know about you is that you're an auror, your mum is impossible, and your family has a large, old house."

"I work too much for my life to be terribly exciting," he admitted. "If it wasn't for my partner I'd probably work a hundred hours a week."

"Your partner's Al's cousin right? One of the girls."

"Yeah, Roxie, you should meet her some time, otherwise she'll pop up when you least expect her."

"So, do you want to do this again?" Steve reached out across the table, a few of his fingers lingering on Scorpius wrist. It was different, but it didn't feel wrong. "When you asked me I wasn't completely sure of your… I mean, when started on you in the bar, I only turned on my charm because I thought you and Al were together."

"I just want to things slow, but I like this." Scorpius gave him a smile and Steve linked their hands together.

"I want another drink, do you want one, and stay a bit longer?"

"Yeah, I don't work tomorrow." He reached into his pocket for coins and was glad when Steve didn't object. He sat there waiting, and trying not to think about the day. This date was a good distraction and it had gone better—

"Scorpius?" a voice tore him out of his thoughts and he saw none other than Daphne Nott coming toward him. Merlin that was the last thing he needed now. He'd gone on one date with Ophelia, then went with her to Daphne's wedding and his mum hadn't dropped it since. "It's so good to see you!" She gave him a hug. "True and I are in town."

"I didn't know."

She flicked her hair over her shoulder. "He's not with me, now, though. I'm meeting up with—"

As if on cue Lily Potter appeared and it was like he'd been punched in a gut. Forget the feeling in his stomach when Steve carelessly flirted with him that night, or how good his touch felt, seeing Lily… She looked gorgeous in casual emerald colored robes, dark red hair floating around her shoulder and face devoid of any makeup. This was one of the few times that she looked like a proper witch. If he took her home to his mum she would wonder when he was proposing.

"Scorpius, they were out of what you had, so I got—" Steve froze when he saw the two woman standing in front of the table, he set down one glass in front of Scorpius, then took a drink of his before resting his free hand on his date's shoulder. "Who-?"

"Old friends," he murmured. "Daphne Nott, and…" He looked at Lily, not really wanting to say her name. "That's Al's sister, Lily."

"I've heard a lot about you." He stuck out his hand to each of them. "I'm Steve, Steve Smith."

"Oh?" Daphne said. "How do the two of you know each other?"

Steve paused, his blue eyes meeting Scorpius', taking his wish of moving things along slowly very seriously.

"We met through Al, we're on a date," Scorpius explained. looking directly at Lily. Her warm brown eyes widened and she bit her lip, one hand clenching up.

"How nice," she murmured. "You know, Daph, I had a long day, I really should be going. It was nice to see you."

When the two women left Scorpius found it a bit easier to breath. He had seen Lily sporadically over the last few years. He was good friends with her brother and cousin after all, her father was his boss, and she worked at the only large wizarding hospital in England. "Aren't you going to ask me about that?"

"You look like someone hexed you, I don't think you want to talk about it." Steve took a drink of his beer. "I was just surprised to see that you told them."

"Well, it's a long story and I did have a bit of an ulterior motive." He took a drink of his beer. "My mum has been pestering me to start things up with Daphne's older sister for ages, and Lily…" He set down the glass. "We dated for nearly three years. I was 16 when we started and it lasted even after I left Hogwarts and Lily was still there."

"Same old story? You broke up with her because of the distance?"

"No, she broke up with me because…" He shook his head. "We were young and it was a mess, truly." He groaned. "I'm sorry about this, the last thing I wanted to talk about is some ex from when I was a kid."

"Don't be," Steve said, reaching out to touch his hand. "Although, if you really are sorry than promise me we'll do this again some time."

Scorpius looked at him, felt the roughness of his and saw the honest emotions written across his face. "Of course, maybe next time we shouldn't go to one of the two wizarding bars in all of London."

Steve nodded and didn't ask questions about the two women, instead he drained his beer and waited for Scorpius to do the same. They left the bar that night and neither was clear headed enough to apparate. The two walked and talked until it grew late enough that they began to be drowsy. When they said goodbye, Steve lingered a bit, his hand brushing against Scorpius' shoulders. He was true to his word and moved at a pace Scorpius was comfortable with. Soon the two parted, each apparating to their respective homes. As Scorpius let himself into the apartment, Lily's face stuck in his mind. Could he truly be happy with Steve? It would be different, but different wasn't necessarily bad and maybe…maybe he wasn't met to be with her. He had barely let himself think about her in years, only on the seldom occasion when he was invited to a family function that she was at. Still, he realized that in order to move forward, he must leave behind that part of his life.

* * *

Lily leaves the hospital on her lunch hour on purpose. It's been swamped for a good three hours straight, back to back dealing with curses and potion accidents and just plain stupidity. Usually she hangs out in the break room, but she knows she'll be convinced into helping on her break and get a whole ten minutes to herself. So, she takes the large coin designed to heat up and vibrate if her presence is needed and goes to the nearest café, a muggle place, so she's thankful she remembered pounds.

The place is filled to the gills, much like the emergency room. She waits in line and orders a fancy coffee that she normally wouldn't order, but she needs to get calories into her and fast. That comes alone with a sandwich and pastry from their food case. Surveying the room she doesn't want to walk the extra blocks to the park, her flat is too far, and she does not want to go to the hospital. That's when she spies a table with an empty chair and a familiar face.

"Mind if I eat here?" she questions, looking at her neighbor. Michael is in his uniform and it looks like he just got his food.

"Lily." There is no tone of affection in his voice. She doesn't blame him after that dinner, but she had hoped it wasn't completely ruined. "What are you doing?"

"I'm on lunch." She sits down in the seat. "And this is the closest to the hospital without being in the hospital." She takes a large bite of her sandwich. "I work at St. Mary's in the Urgent Care." The lie comes easily, but it St. Mungo's is connected to the Ministry and all Ministry employees are briefed in keeping the magical world hidden from muggles.

"I heard about that, small hospital."

"Yeah," she said, the lie feels wrong in her mouth. If only he could _see_ it. "Listen, I'm sorry about dinner that night. Daphne is, well she's a sweetheart, a bit overbearing and comes off a little shallow, but she's great once you get to know her."

"Lily, you don't need to explain to me. Listen, I'm fine with you and dinner was good, but it'd be better if we stay neighbors or just friends. Okay?"

"Let me explain—"

"No, let _me._ When I first met you in the hallway I thought I had you pegged and then when I saw you that night I thought that you were a girl that I'd like to get to know, but we'd never work out. I've tried dating girls like you and I'm not what you want. My job isn't glamorous, hell, I didn't even go to college. I can't give you a big ring, and I won't impress your parents."

"Is that who you think I am?"

"I saw your friend Lily, the ring on her finger, and how she talked about schools."

"You're wrong you know." She looked up at him. "There is a lot you don't understand."

Michael is silent he pulls something out of his pocket that Lily doesn't quite recognize. A thin rectangle made of glass and metal…Her muggle cousins had those, called them cell phones. Magic interfered with them too much for wizards to use, some muggle borns were getting creative and coming out with something called a communicator that used magic instead of electricity. "I know it's old," he said.

"I wouldn't know," she blurted out and he looked at her strangely. "I don't have a phone."

"You're joking?" His eyes were widened in disbelief.

"No." She shrugged and took a drink of her coffee. It was lukewarm by now and tasted a bit better. As she took a drink she felt the coin vibrate in her pocket and groan. She reached inside and felt that it had grown warm. One or other meant that she should try to head back early, both meant that her presence was required. "I need to get back to work, it was nice seeing you."

"Yeah, maybe we could try dinner again?" His voice is steady and he has a smile that makes the words seem so sincere. She wants to say more but knows she should rush back to the hospital. Once there, any thoughts of her personal life leave her as she is sent to take care of a bad case that it is her specialty, the after effects of a nasty curse. Hours later the patient is better and thank her profusely, the family comments on her efficient work and excellent bedside manner. She just wishes she had the same effect on people that weren't her patients. Ella finds her at the desk organizing the files and tells her to leave an hour early. Lily goes back to her flat and collapses on her bed after taking her shoes off.


	5. Chapter 5

When she woke up, bleary eyed, she blinked at the clock and saw that it was four in the afternoon. She groaned and cursed herself for not charming the clock correctly to wake her up at 3.30. She had the night shift tonight and was off tomorrow and despite being in bed since 8.30 she was exhausted. Her visions were starting again, this she could feel. Something was tugging at the back of her mind and she thought of flashes of dreams she could remember. All it was short snippets of sound and flashes of faces.

Half an hour later she was dressed, hair wet and leaving droplets on her t-shirt as she stood in the kitchen. Michael had agreed to give it another try, even offered to cook for Lily, but he ended up getting called in to work today. She volunteered to make dinner again, a rarity for her. She lived off of take away, menus organized by the times they were available. Still, her grandma Molly had given her a few pointers on how to cook so she wasn't completely incapable (as long as she could use magic).

After dinner was mostly cooked, or at least to a point where she could handle it without magic, she began muggle proofing the house. She cast spells to freeze her pictures that were out in one frame and picked up the random knuts that she had on various counters. She made sure her wand was tucked away into her bedroom and spell books hidden. Once finished she surveyed her flat and decided it that it looked just like a muggle's.

Checking on the dinner, she was interrupted by a knock on the door and could hardly stop herself from using magic to open the door for Michael and walked over to find him standing there with a shopping bag in hand. "Come in," she said, smiling brightly. He wasn't in his uniform, just a pair of jeans and plain white t-shirt.

"You said pasta, so I bought bread like you asked and something to drink." He holds out a bottle. "I didn't figure you were the wine type, so I brought beer, it's my favorite."

"Mine too, thanks."

"Need any help?"

"I just finished up."

"You alright?" Michael leaned up against the counter after he followed Lily to the kitchen. He watched her pull out dishes and plate the dishes using tongs.

"Tired, but it's just working the night shift. I'll be doing it tomorrow as well." She handed him a plate and gestured to the table in the back of the kitchen. "I'll get glasses, can you open that?"

"Bottle opener?"

"No, give it." She knew a charm that Jordi taught her…Grabbing the bottle from him to motion hitting against the counter, murmuring it under breath at the last moment, barely cracking it against the counter, but the metal cap still popped off.

"How did you do that without breaking the bottle?"

"Magic touch," she said with a laugh, handing him the bottle and grabbing glasses before settling down.

After their glasses were filled they began eating, talking quietly, small talk about work and shifts. He laughs when Lily struggles to loop the long spaghetti noodles around her fork, she laughs when he slurps one up. "I'm glad we had a take two, there's just something I can't figure out. Why were you so determined to…" He laughs, not finishing.

Lily ducks her head and finishes the last bite of her dinner before dabbing at her face with a napkin. She shrugs. "It's hard to explain, but I like a challenge."

"A challenge?" He looked amused as he leaned back in his chair. "I don't know whether to be flattered or offended," he said, remembering what she always said to him.

Lily didn't know quite how to respond, to put what she was thinking into words that would make sense to him. "I became a nurse because potions was my worst subject, you know."

"I don't quite know what that has to do with anything…" His eyebrows were deeply furrowed as he looked her over. "And what are potions?"

Lily's cringed at her mistake. "I meant chemistry…I called it potions because it felt like magic to make things turn out right."

He passed her a smirk. "So you choose things that it seems like you're going to fail at."

After they were done eating Lily put the dishes in the sink and turned down his insistences to help her wash them up. It would be much easier with magic, so it could wait until she was gone. The two moved to the living area and sat on the couch, the rest of the beer in their glasses. Michael looked at the pictures on the wall, smiling at the collection of what appeared to be family photos. "Big family," he said, gesturing to the photo of them at one of their summer dinners. She took another drink when she realized when it was from. It was a night she invited Scorpius over. He stood by her, smiling at the camera.

"Not everyone is related," she explained and got up to pull it off the wall before sitting back down on the couch. "The blonde," she pointed at Luna, "is my godmother. That's her husband and her sons." She looked at the men that flanked her, Rolf's dark hair and tan skin a stark contrast to the other. "This is Teddy and his grandma Andromeda. He's my dad's godson."

"Where are his parents? Could they not make it?"

"They…" Lily's mind flashbacked to seeing a picture of Remus and Tonks. The vibrant young woman and the weary older man with such a happy look on his face. "They died when he was baby. Dad helped raise him, he's practically my third brother." Her mind felt like it was reaching, groping at something.

"Oh, which ones are your brothers?"

"Those two." They stood by her father, who was behind Lily. "James," the one that looked eerily like her dad, "and Albus. That's my mum." Ginny stood beside her daughter, eyes turned towards her own brother. She walked him through the rest of her family, finding it easier to talk, and skirted around some of the stories. Luckily, you couldn't see any of his scars on Uncle Bill and there was no reason to talk about Uncle George's twin. "Sorry, I've spent so much time talking about my family." She took the photo from him and went to hang it up on the wall.

"It's fine." He got up to, following her to get a closer look. "Is that you?"

Lily looked at the picture he was studying carefully. It was her grandmother Lily, wearing some sort of gown with her hand extended. She had frozen it right before she pulled her grandfather James in the picture. The two of them looked so _happy._ Her eyes were bright and smile wide. James' eyes never left her face. "No," Lily responded. They were 17 in that picture and had gotten married at the Ministry hours before. "It's my grandmother, I was named after her."

"Wow," he said. "If it wasn't for the eyes the two of you could be twins."

"Yeah." Lily tried not to think about them, for some reason it was one of the triggers anymore. It propelled her mind to start reaching for visions of the Ministry, of aurors.

"How come they weren't in that picture?"

"They died when my dad was a baby." The two of them were only 21, Lily had already outlived them and that the same time she felt like she accomplished so much less than they had.

Michael looked at Lily who had her head tilted and saw that there was so much more behind her words. He didn't say anything, but reached out and touched her arm. She gave him a smile and sat back down on the couch with him. He didn't ask any more questions, instead continued to tell her anecdotes that would distract her. Michael wasn't exactly a challenge, he was safe, and being with him was simple.

Scorpius was engrossed in his work. Papers were fluttering all around him and a quill scratching on a fresh pad of parchment. He didn't even look up when he heard footsteps come behind him. "Roxie, good, can you do me a favor?" He gropes for a book and then holds it behind his head.

"Not Roxie," the voice murmurs, a warm hand resting on his shoulder. The papers and the quill drops suddenly when Scorpius turns to meet blue eyes. "We were supposed to meet almost an hour ago."

"Oh…I'm sorry, really, it's just that everything's coming together and making sense now…" Scorpius looked up at him. "What are you doing _here_?"

"Well, I was going to surprise you in the lobby, but I bumped into Al and he said the only way you were going to come anytime soon was if I dragged you out of here." He looks to make sure there is an empty space on the desk before sitting down. "Are you about ready or do you want to cancel?  
"I—" Scorpius finds himself cut off when another man steps forward. This man startles Steve as he looks like an older version of the man he's dating. The hair is a bit thinner and the robes dark and pressed. "Sir, do you need something?"

"You neglected to sign your reports." He hands a folder to Scorpius. "Who are you? Not another recruit I hope."

"Naw, I'm here for Score." Steve gives him a lazy grin and watches as Scorpius eyes widen.

"Are you now?"

"Civilians are allowed in here as far as I was concerned," Scorpius said, finishing signing his name with a flourish before handing him the folder.

"Of course they are, but usually they tend to stay away." He smiles as he looks over Steve who is slouching, wearing clothes that look vaguely muggle with jeans a bit too snug and a bit too worn in conjunction with Henley that strains across his chest. "I'm Draco Malfoy, one of the supervisors in the Law Enforcement Division here."

"Steve Smith," he replies.

"I take it you are one of Scorpius'…friends." There is a quirk of a smile at his otherwise neutral face. "I will leave the two of you. Scorpius I suggest you leave. You have quite enough overtime and I'd hate for you to keep him waiting."

He doesn't answer and the tension doesn't leave his shoulders until Draco is out of sight. Once he's gone, Scorpius began to pick up his desk. Steve watches in great interest how he doesn't use magic when it could all be cleaned with just the right movement of his wand. He looks up at him when it's all done and Steve gets to the floor following him to the elevator. It isn't until they are outside that the two of them finally talk.

"I'm sorry about that, I didn't know your dad worked in the same department."

"It's fine." Scorpius runs a hand through his hair and Steve looks at him, still looking worried that they he did something to mess up their relationship. He promised to take it slow and then shows up in the middle of his office. But he doesn't care anymore. He leans forward to grab his shoulder and press a kiss to his lips. The first time they kissed it was awkward, didn't feel quite right to Scorpius. Nothing about Steve was soft, he was all lean muscle and his skin toughened from work. His lips were chapped and he smelled of sawdust and paint and an undertone of his shampoo. It was nice, though. There was no overwhelming scent of perfume or sticky lip gloss like when he kissed Ophelia on that horrible date. Ophelia felt so small and fragile in his arms, even though he had played on Quidditch on the pitch with her and knew she was everything but. Steve, though, was surprisingly gentle for his size and didn't push back until Scorpius pushed harder. It felt safe. Safer than when he kissed Lily all those years ago. He stills remembers her bruising kiss, how she would tumble on his lap and always reach for more. Steve was patient.

"I guess you are." He laughed when they pulled away and touched his arm, lingering for a bit. "Where do you want to go?"

"My place." They went to Steve's already. A flat that on the outside looks sketchy, but on the inside he's transformed it. He said he didn't have to pay rent for two months because the landlord was so impressed and actually hired him to help renovate some of the others too.

"Oh, I know we went to mine, but—"

"I'll show you the wonders of takeout and…" He pauses searching the mans face. "Maybe my bedroom." His voice is lowered for the last part and Steve's blue eyes widen.

"Then let's go." He links his hand with Scorpius who pulls them to a secluded place to apparate to the flat.


	6. Chapter 6

Time passes fast with Michael and Lily likes it. Well, she likes some of it. He's an excuse to relax, to not stay overtime at the hospital for nearly every shift. Ella notices the difference and so does Charlotte. Lily hasn't gotten up enough courage to ask her how on earth she made it work with Adrian. She knew that after the war she basically left the magical world until her daughter was of age. Lily can't do that, she so deeply rooted in it, she would always resent Michael if she left it for him.

Still, she does best to straddle the two worlds, keep the right amount of information hidden. It's hard, especially when they make plans after a night shift, or rather after she sleeps after a night shift. Luckily she's able to keep the visions at bay during the day using strategies and just from plain old practice. Sleeping, though, is a whole different story. They tug at her mind, torture her with small bits and blurred faces…Sometimes the vision was reoccurring, the same one with the woman Auror and then the Auror she thought was Scorpius. She told him that it was just a bad day and he believed it. The second time, though, she got close to telling him the truth. He said that if she didn't have nightmares it would be more worrying. The response sounds so _right_ to her ears she really did wish she was just a nurse having nightmares over a gruesome day at work.

Today, she barely got any sleep, but she has two days off in a row next, something unheard of. Michael and she were going to her favorite bar, the muggle one that was wizard friendly. She slipped into a pair of tight jeans before putting on a jumper and boots. Fall was here and was not being shy with it's wind. There was a knock at that the door and she rushed over to see Michael leaning against the wall next to it. "It would be easier if you had a phone."

"I was getting ready."

"Are you done?"

She nodded with roll of her eyes, grabbing her bag before reaching for his hand. He guided her down the stairs, she purposefully bumped into him. When they got into the lobby she kissed the side of his neck, then his chin.

"Lily, we just _left_ your apartment. Aren't you hungry?"

"Yeah." She gives him a grin and pulls away. "Let's get walking, it's not that far from here."

"I could get a cab," he offers, but they continue walking down the street to the pub. It's still rather early in the evening, even if it is a Wednesday night. The place is full, but they do find a table. Lily forgoes her usual beer for a soda and orders a large basket of chips to start off with.

"Before I forget to ask you, there's this dinner that the police force puts on every year to raise money before Christmas." He rubs the back of his neck. "If you think it's—"

"I'll go with you, it's not that big of a deal."

"Really? Chief was giving me a hard time about not bringing a date and I just thought that maybe it was time to…take things a bit further."

Lily smirks at that. "Of course." She tells herself that Michael isn't Scorpius. At least not when Scorpius played for the Thestral's and public events were mandatory for him.

"I didn't think fancy parties like this were your thing."

"There's a lot you don't know." The food is brought and Lily helps herself to fries. Using the moment to collect her thoughts, she takes a large drink before she speaks again. "I used to date this guy, and…I always went with him to these boring dinners and charity dances and things like that. I got good at charming people." She laughs a bit too much, and realizes that there _is_ no joke in that statement to Michael.

A smirk tugs at the edges of his lips as he shakes his head.

"What?"

"I was right about you." He let out a laugh. "Not completely, but—"

"There's a lot you don't know." She'd let him go on believing she'd been raised like Scorpius or one of the other pureblood families. It was magical equivalent to what he'd imagined of her, being sent to boarding school and having Daphne as a friend. Still, even with this made up past in Michael's mind to him she was still Lily. The cheeky neighbor girl that was persistent. She was never Lily Potter, daughter of war hero Harry Potter and professional Quidditch player/war hero Ginny Weasley. "I need more food, do you want something?"

"Nah, but you might want to get a large order of whatever you're having."

"Deal." She makes a show of sashaying in front of him, when she's well past she tosses her hair over her shoulder and looks at him coyly before heading to the bar. She wonders when he had to be at work. His shifts are a lot more regular than hers, as she alternates weeks between having the night shifts and days shifts. Perhaps, she can convince him to spend the night with her. They fooled around and gotten to 'almost' many times. She doubts he's a virgin with how they'd been and the last person she'd had sex with had been a while ago. Jordi. When they let the lines of their friendship blur again.

She's leaning against the bar waiting for her food when she feels a hand on her shoulder. Her eyes widen in surprise when she sees Fred standing in front of her. He's matured quite a bit and quite surprisingly now has a job at Gringotts. The job has something to do with accounting for businesses, he always had an eye for money.

"What are you doing here?" She hugs her cousin tightly. "It's been ages."

"Well, if you didn't work all the time and came to family dinner on Sunday night. Always a standing invitation." He looks around and then points in the direction of the table she's at with Michael. "Who's that?"

"No one," she snapped.

"Well, if 'no one' isn't ready to meet our lovely family I'd get him out of here. Roxie told me that her, Albus Score, and his new 'friend…" He quirks air quotes around the last word. "Will be here soon, I invited James, and I'm sure Roxie told Dom to come as well so she told Louis and Louis told Hugo…"

"You're joking, right?"

"No, this place is usually the only place big enough to hold all of us unless we want to go to the Leaky Cauldron. Aunt Hannah may be a miracle worker in her own kitchen, but that bar leaves much to be desired."

"I…Shit, Fred, I have to get him out of here. I kept my tab open, can you pay the bartender for me?" She reaches into her pocket to grab some of the odd muggle money and hand it to him.

"Sure, but why? Is this guy a one night stand, because I for one—"

"Leave the older brother shit for your own sister, alright?" She shakes her head. "Fred, I'm going to tell you something that you have to promise not to tell anyone."

"You fucked Zabini again when he had to come here to take those Ministry tests?"

"Can you attempt to not be so crude in public?" she hissed. "And no, he was only here for a few hours and I didn't see him." She looked over and then sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. "He's a muggle."

"Is that all?"

"He doesn't know," she explained slowly.

"Lil, I don't know how much you've heard, but-"

"I know, but I can't take chances with him." She sighs and gives him a hug before telling goodbye and heading back to her table. There are questions floating around Michael, she can see them in his eyes and hanging off the edges of his lips.

"Who was that?"

"Fred," she said. "And we should leave."

"Wait…" He turns to look at the boy who's leaning against the bar now. He's tall and lanky like his father, but everything else he inherited from his mother, the dark skin and brown hair that he keeps closely cropped.

"He's a cousin, but can you just trust me?"

"Why?"

"Because he told me that my family was going to be coming here and it's just overwhelming to meet them all at once."

"I can handle my own Lily."

She sighs. "You haven't met my family. You can start out with Al or Teddy, but there is no way I am having you meet James and Fred when they are together along with Roxie and Dom."

"Fine, but just because you agreed to come with me." He gives her a smirk and puts an arm around her. The two leave in just the nick of time because in the distance Lily can hear a faint pop from an apparition that wasn't done quite properly (most likely Hugo). When she turns around she sees a large group of people entering the bar. She pauses and scans the crowd. Scorpius is among them, his height and his white-blond hair make him easy to find. There is another person in the crowd. Their hair isn't any of the usual colors of her family. It's a man, broad shoulder and nearly taller than Score who has is arm around his shoulder. They both look happy. And so is she. Lacing her hand through Michael's she plants a kiss on his cheek and leans into him.

* * *

They don't spend the night together like Lily wished, but they do stay in her apartment for a good length of time. Around midnight she's in bed and just beginning to fall into a deep sleep when there is a knock at the door. She groans and throws a sweatshirt she stole from Michael over her pyjamas before she answers it. Part of it hopes it is Michael, she quite likes sleeping next to someone. Instead, she is greeted with a drunken image of her older brother.

"James? What in Merlin's name are you doing here?"

"Can I spend the night? I can't apparate and I think I'll vomit if I take the Knight bus."

"Our whole family was at the bar and they let you drink this much?"

"You know how it is." He waved his hand. "I was celebrating. Did you hear I got the job?"

Lily leads her older brother in, shutting the door and locking it behind him before guiding him towards the couch. "What job did you get?"

"That coach job for one of the good teams. It's an assistant positon…" He shakes his head. "Are you happy?"

"Yes." She laughs as she helps him get settled down on the couch, leaving a glass of water on the coffee table along with a veil of her best hangover cure next to it. "We'll talk in the morning."

She hopes that morning will come late. James never was a morning person and she doesn't want to get out of bed before she has too, she wants to enjoy it as long as she can. Although, her peace is interrupted by another knock on the door. Half-asleep, she opened it and saw Michael standing there with two cups from the café along with a paper bag. "What are doing here? I thought you had to be at work early."

"I did, but the briefing got cancelled so I have a bit of extra time."

"It's not really a good time…" She looks to the couch where James is still slumbering. "Kitchen and keep quiet, I'll explain." Lily notices not that Michael is in uniform and he takes off his cap when entering her flat. "That is my brother on the couch, he had a bit too much to drink and spent the night here because my flat is closest."

"Should I have brought something for him?"

"I'll put on the kettle and give him some toast, it'll be all he can manage. He doesn't have work today, he just got a promotion." She starts doing just that, managing to put the kettle on the muggle way.

"Oh, what's he do?"

"Football," Lily said, remembering the name of the popular muggle sport. "He's got a job as an assistant coach, used to play for a minor league team." She took the lid off the cup and took a drink. A latte with an extra shot, creamy with a strong coffee flavor. "Thanks for this though."

"Not a problem." He leaned forward and gave her a kiss. He had drank nearly half of his coffee on the way here, but his was sweeter, caramel rested on his lips. They pull away and eat the pastries before Lily climbs on the counter and sits with her legs swinging, Michael stands in one of the corners, leaning at just the right angle to look at her. When she goes in for another kiss she hears a rustling in the living room and sighs. Jumping off the counter she pulls out a cup and places a tea bag in hot water before pulling a box of biscuits out of the cupboard. She doesn't feel like dealing with toast now.

"Stay here until I let him into it. James' first impression is never good, particularly when he's hungover."

"His sister isn't much better."

"Shut it." The words come with a laugh on the end as she enters the living area and takes a seat on the coffee table. "Morning, sunshine." She takes the vial and uncaps it, handing it to her bleary eyed brother.

"Blood hell, Lil," he says and drinks it one gulp. "That stuff is awful."

"Should have drank less." She holds out the cup of water. "That may help with the headache, but your body wants liquids."

"Should of went to Teddy's. He gives me the disapproving look and Vicky scowls at me, but they don't lecture."

"You know that would have drawn too much attention," she whispers. They had moved into a house in a wizarding neighborhood. "James, I don't care that you come here, but we have to be careful if you don't want your face splashed across the papers." She hands him a cup of tea and pushes himself into a sitting position, running a hand through his hair.

"They've finally lost interest in us. If Malfoy's not careful they'll have some real fun…Did you know he dates blokes too? Like our Albie." He laughed.

"You act more drunk when you're hungover," she said and then lowers her voice again. "I want you to meet somebody…"  
"Fuck, Lil, I—"

"He's in the kitchen," she said dryly. "Can you just play nice?" She gets to her feet and peeks her head through the doorway of the kitchen gesturing for Michael to come with her. "James, meet Michael, Michael meet James."

"Nice to meet you."

"Sorry about this, honestly I don't make a habit out of crashing on my baby sister's couch." He stands to his full height and shakes his hand. "How long have you been together?"

"Month give or take," Lily answered, narrowing her eyes as she watched Michael settle down in the armchair, sitting on the edge.

"You've been dating him for nearly a month and we didn't even know his name?" James asked. "What if he'd been a madman one of those blokes that's in those death eater groups, huh?

" _James Sirius,"_ she said, her voice raising an octave. "Honestly, I think I know how to take care of myself."

"This isn't Zabini you shagging!" he shouted getting to his feet. "You have no idea who this guy is. I've never seen him before. What school do he go to?"

"I went—" Michael began, but Lily cut in.

"He didn't go to uni and neither did you," she said slowly. "He went to the police academy."

"Police academy—Bugger it all." He pulled another face. "I have to go and ready, I have a meeting at one, but we're talking about this, alright?" James questioned looking directly at his sister. "And don't give me any more of that crap about calling attention to myself because you're doing a pretty shitty job at it."

"James—"

"You can tell dad and you better hope that you actually get to tell him." He sighs. "Thanks for letting me stay." With that he's out the door and Lily knows that he's apparating home, she has no idea what Michael thinks.

"So, I can see why you didn't want me to meet your family last night." Michael says. Lily climbs on top of him in the arm chair. His lap is a little too bony to be comfortable and she knows that with the angle he's sitting at her weight can't be all that comfortable for him. "Why was he so mad about me being a policeman? I thought your dad was one, your brother too."

"They are…" She touched his face and sighed. How much of a lie did she want to tell him?

"That bit about your father and calling attention to yourself…"

"Don't' worry about it." She turns her body to straddle him, each hand on the side of his face as she goes in for a kiss. Nothing about Michael is hesitant, she goes in for a kiss and he reciprocates.

"As much as I'd love to snog like teenagers and forget the argument, I have to get to work. Can we talk tonight?"

"Of course."

They didn't talk though. Lily got called in to work and she accepted a bit too happily. By the time they saw each other again, Michael either didn't remember her promise or care to ask. Either way, it didn't matter to her.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: Please, please review! I'd love to hear your thoughts so far.**

* * *

Scorpius was nervous. Steve glanced at the man he been dating for the better part of a few months and gave him a smile, resting a hand on his shoulders. "I can deal with a bit of an inquisition. Your dad seemed nice."

"It's not my father I'm worried about." He sighed. "My mother will attempt to tear you to shreds only using a few words, and very pointed glances."

"I promised to take it slow, maybe we are moving—"

"No, no…" Scorpius waved the idea away. "She could care less that you're a man. She's been trying to fix me up with his pure blooded girls from families with good names that she's been associated with since before I was born. At school she would use to write me letters and tell me how nice a girl was and that she'd be coming to our Christmas ball…"

"That doesn't sound so bad."

"I was dating someone at the time and told mother she was coming." He ran a hand through his hair and looked over Steve. Miracously, Scorpius had been able to wrangle him into something that looked like it hadn't seen a construction sight. The dress robes were simple and dark grey in color. He had foregone a tie, but Scorpius let it slide. The two walked side by side into the Malfoy manor, Steve looked around taking in the paintings and various antiques that dotted the place. He seemed particularly enchanted by the staircase. Scorpius watched in amusement as he ran his hands up and down the banister, taking it all in.

"The architecture of this is amazing," he said. "Sorry, but I've been excited about seeing this place ever since you said where your parents lived."

"Don't apologize, it's always nice having someone admiring the place. Although, can you please try and compliment some of the furnishings? Astoria's business is about antiques and she always likes it when someone tells her how complimentary they are." Draco stood in the door way, looking over the man who had no frozen. "We have met, you were at my son's desk a few weeks ago."

"Yes, sir," he responded. "Nearly had to drag him out of the office, he never leaves."

"I know, his mother and I were afraid something was going on with him and that that Weasley girl."

"Father, I'm right here."

"I know. Honestly, she's fine, clever and persistent, but have you met her father?" Draco let out a shudder. "He owns a joke shop, used to send Potter some of his merchandise and not warn him about the contents."

"Fascinating," Scorpius replied dryly. "Where is mother I'm sure she'll want to begin the interrogation quickly."

"Should have argued with Potter when I heard he was placing you with Weasley, her cheek has gotten to you."

"It wasn't Roxie." He gives his father a pointed stare and knows exactly what is flitting through his mind.

"Let's go get drinks before dinner," Draco said and gestured before leading the two towards the sitting room where Astoria was seated on one of the couches, a nearly full glass in her hand. "Look who I found in the foyer."

"I was admiring the architecture and how well the antiques matched the period, ma'am." He took a step away from Scorpius and held out a hand towards Astoria Malfoy.

"Different than I expected," she said to him. "Nonetheless it is nice to meet you. Sit…" She gestured to a loveseat where Scorpius was already occupying half. "What would you like to drink?"

Scorpius knew that Steve's drink of choice was either a porter or amber ale if he had anything alcoholic. He despised wine and one only have a glass of mead on occasion. "I'll have a mead, does that sound alright to you?" Scorpius asked, Steve nodded and then Draco lifted his wand, barely murmuring a spell before two glasses floated towards them.

"He seems desirable Scorpius, what is your occupation?" she questioned.

"Construction, building houses and things like that." He looks down at the glass in his hand, takes a drink and then looks back up. "My passion is restoration."

"A man after my own heart." Astoria Malfoy laughs, actually lets out a laugh that seems to be of joy and not mockery. "This I can work with. The profession is not ideal, but not dangerous." A devious smile crosses her face. "Good choice Scorpius."

He opens his mouth, but no words come as he looks over Steve. Steve with his open, honest face and bright blue eyes. He reaches towards Scorpius and pats his knee with a work roughened hand… How on earth did he manage to charm his parents? Lily Potter couldn't do it. Hell, his mother didn't even like Ophelia all that much…or so it seemed when they interacted.

"However, I wonder if you can deal with the pressure." She swirled the wine in her glass around. "It's all fine and dandy that the two of you are together and happy with whatever you have, but you need to realize something." She set her glass down on the table as she rose to her feet. "The second the media catches wind of this and they have nothing better to report the two of you are going to be fodder." She fixes her eyes on Steve. "You should come out unscathed as long as your history isn't unsavory, however, I doubt my son will."

"Astoria, please…" Draco said as he reached for his wife. She tore her hand away and he got to his feet with a thinly veiled glare in her direction. "Let's eat." He walked out of the room Astoria fixing him with her famous look that appeared as if she was rolling her eyes without actually completing the action. She followed him out leaving Scorpius and Steve there.

Scorpius did not say a word, but managed a tense smile before reaching for Steve's arm. He rubbed out up and down it before getting to his feet. "You're doing good," he told his boyfriend.

"You owe me," he said, his eyes had a mischievous glint in them. "Tonight, we can go to my place."

"My parents are in the next room," Scorpius told him, but leaned over and pressed a kiss to his lips. "Come on."

Lily set down her wand with a smirk, running her hand through the perfect curls, not too tight, but not quite waves. The dress was high necked, cap sleeved and tightly fitted until the waist where it flowed out freely. Her favorite part of it was how her back was exposed. Her throat tightened when she saw her wand again. It would be best to leave it at home, she usually was able to hide it somewhere on her person, but in a gown with a wrap and a small clutch that held only a few pounds and her ID…She wouldn't be left defenseless, her wandless magic was improving by leaps and bounds, but her spells still weren't as powerful. Michael would laugh at her, thinking she needed protection when she was going to be around hundreds of police officers, but…Muggles scared her. Or at least the visions she was having did. She thought of the auror screaming at the healer that he needed his partner saved, that it was just a muggle, it wasn't a wizard with a killing curse. She gripped the counter and pushed the thoughts of any vision out of her mind.

Slipping her feet into heels she glanced into the mirror one more time before heading into the living room. Her shawl was draped over the couch and she wrapped it around her shoulders looking at the clock. Merlin, why was she so nervous?

"Lily?" Michael called with a knock on the door. She grabbed her clutch and raced over. "Wow…" He smirked at her, one hand tucking his cap under his arm the other hand held out for her.

"Thank you." She smirked and ignored his hand, settling herself under his arm.

"Where did that come from? You definitely don't wear that to work."

"I didn't buy this."

"You do realize you're talking to a cop," he said in her ear.

"Going to arrest me?" She sneaked out from underneath his arm and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Because your handcuffs don't scare me." She let out a laugh. "I borrowed this from my cousin, Dom. She's a reporter and has to go to functions all the time."

"There's a cab waiting for us downstairs, come on."

Lily would have lied if she said she was ashamed for making the poor driver uncomfortable on the way to the ball, but there was something about Michael in that uniform and her nerves that clouded her head. When they got out, Michael kept a hand at the small of her back and paid the driver. Lily thanked him with a shy smile and passed him a tip. As they walked up the steps towards the large building…

"Everyone will love you," he said as they stopped at the front door. He dropped off his jacket and she set her wrap on it. The attendant gave Michael a nod, and then looked over Lily.

"I take it she's not on the force?" he asked.

"No, I'm just doing him a favor." She gave him a wink before Michael curled his arm all the way her waist. "It's just teasing." She kissed him on the cheek and appreciated the beard he had grown. He looked better with it and she may have fussed when the stubble was growing out, but she liked how it felt now.

"Oy, Collins!" A voice shouted and she watched as a man appeared in his dress uniform, but how they laid made Lily flash back to her years at Hogwarts to Jordi and Nott on the train. "Hello, who are you?" One of them asked with a smirk.

"Lily Potter," she replies with a tight smile.

"This is my partner, Eric Henderson," he tells.

"Pleased to finally meet you." His face breaks into a wide grin as he holds out a hand for her to shake. "He's told me quite a bit about you, but I wondered when I'd ever get to meet you."

"I've been reluctant, but he convinced me," she answered and looked at Michael who had loosened his grip and relaxed against her. "My schedule is so crazy that it's hard to make time."

"What do you do?"

"I'm a nurse in an urgent care facility."

"Where do you work? I may be a little more willing to come in for a checkup if you're their."

"Should I be offended or flattered?" she asked, her eyes sparkling as she turned to Michael.

"Shut up." Michael rolled his eyes as he looked at his partner. "A joke between us. Trust me our first impressions of each other weren't the best."

"Wait, are you that…what did you call her 'insufferable' with a 'horrid' friend?"

Lily bit her lip to hold back laughter. "We cleared up that misunderstanding…Can we sit down?" As these words leave her mouth, in the distance she sees a familiar man. A man in a dress uniform with salt and pepper hair with a barrel chest. His eyes are dark and deep, but still welcoming… "Who's that?"

"He's in charge of the entire division, why?"

 _Lily is clutching her test results as she enters the Ministry. Bursting through the doors of Magical Law Enforcement the receptionists try to stop her. The Potter children have become a regular occurrence again, much like they did before they went to Hogwarts. "Where is my dad?"_

 _"_ _Conference, but—"_

 _Lily's gone in a whirl of red hair and Healer robes. She skitters to a stop just outside the conference room, hearing the voices from the inside. Waiting feels like ages, and she considers waiting, but her exam results are back and she hasn't seen her father in weeks. The door clicks open, wizards and witches from all departments spill out. Her father is talking to an older man in a strange uniform._

 _"_ _Lily, what are you doing here?" He smiles and holds out his arm for a hug, then quickly leads them off to the side in the direction of his office._

 _"_ _I got my exam results back and wanted you to be the first to see."_

 _Harry smirks, pulling her close with an arm around her shoulder and then looking at the man. "This is my daughter, Lily, Commissioner."_

 _"_ _Pleased to meet you, now what are those exam results your so excited about?"_

 _"_ _My exit exams for the healer academy."_

 _"_ _Think of it like medical school," Harry tells him. "The equivalent would be a doctor or nurse."_

 _"_ _Admirable profession," he says._

 _"_ _Thank you, sir."_

 _"_ _I like her, Potter." He laughs and claps Harry on the shoulder. "Thanks for the meeting and the briefing, now who's going to get me out of her."_

 _"_ _Look for Arthur Weasley, you won't be able to miss him," Harry informs him with a chuckle._

"No reason." It was nearly a year ago when she saw him, would he recognize her? "Let's get a drink and sit down." She had to calm down, next to Michael she was just another guest, just another woman with a date. This was something she could do, she did it with Scorpius countless times. So, she let herself sink into that mindset. Talking and working the crowd, never letting a smile leave her face.

By the time they left the event, there was a definite chill in the air. She pulled her wrap tighter and Michael held her close. He kissed her cheek, and she turned into him, resting her head in the crook of his neck. As they were doing this, waiting for a cab, Lily heard what sounded like a click. Michael didn't seem to notice, but when they pulled apart she saw someone with a pass dangling around the neck, holding a camera and a notebook.

"Is the cab here? Maybe we should start walking?"

"Lily it'll be here soon enough, calm down."

"Excuse me, could I ask a question?"

Lily tensed when she saw a woman she had come to hate. Paisley Wells. What on earth was she doing here? But there she stood in a tight fitting black dress, hair pulled back in slick ponytail with almost garish lipstick. "Of course." Lily stood ramrod straight and suddenly felt naked without her wand.

"Are the two of you coming from the fundraiser?" she asked. "I'm supposed to be getting some pictures of the people that went for a story." Paisley held out her camera and before Lily could object, Michael spoke.

"Of course, I saw you in their earlier. Come now, Lily, we are waiting."

She wants to pull away from him, but she knows that Paisley already snapped the picture of them kissing, of their limbs tangled together. Lily poses, her head turned towards the camera with only the slightest upturn of the lips, but Michael looks at her, face broken into a huge grin. "That's perfect, so are you both on the force or—"

"I work for the City of London Police," he explains. "I have since I entered the police force at the age of 18."

"And what about you?"

"I'm a nurse," Lily explains.

"A match made me in heaven…" Paisley is writing when the doors to the building open and out pops Erik.

"Michael, can you come in for a moment? Won't take long."

"Do you mind waiting for the cab?" he asked, turning to Lily.

"Not at all." Lily watches and waits until he is inside before she leans close to Paisley with a scowl on the face. "I swear if you put us in that damn magazine of yours I will—"

"I came to do an article humanizing the sides of politics," Paisley explains. "Part of it is analyzing wizards that chose to lead muggle lives, but I never thought I would find this." She grins. "I came to report an a man that met his wife just after the second war, he was an auror, but left the Ministry to join the police force and marry her. However, your relationship puts an interesting twist on it."

"You can't," she hisses, then bites her lip as her face softens. "I don't want anything to happen to him, he's just a muggle. You've seen what happens when the separationists get upset, you could be putting his life in danger."

"No harm will come of him," Paisley says. "You know I find it interesting that your father is working so very hard to get an integrationist agenda passed and you're dating a muggle."

"Leave my father out of it, he has no idea who I'm dating."

"Oh? Lily Potter afraid to tell her father she's dating a muggle…Interesting angle? Will he be displeased?" Paisley looked up from where she was writing and tilted her head. "Or is that he works for a Ministry and you have a distrust for aurors, a trend that is starting up once again."

"Leave him alone." Her voice is shaky and eyes watery. "He's a good man, but—"

"You don't want to tell him, don't want to risk it…It can be hard for aurors to obliviate magic from a muggle's memory without getting rid of the person that it's tied to."

"Whatever you do, don't publish those photos."

"This is a story that needs to be told, Lily. It's not like those fluff piece from before, this is real news. Don't hold an article about you and Malfoy against me."

"No. I'm not even talking about that. If you publish the story, Merlin, I swear that you will wish you ever existed."

"Threatening me? That's not exactly the right route to go…"

"Angering me isn't the right route either," she snapped. "Do you realize who my family is? I'm not even talking about my name, but what they do. My mother is an editor in the most popular wizarding newspaper. My father is head of the auror department, my brother, god brother, and cousin are aurors. My uncle is an ex-auror, my aunt is a lawyer…need I go on?" Lily then turns to the street to see a cab pull beside the curb. She tightens the shawl around her shoulders and races towards it. Michael comes a few moments later to find her with knitted eyebrows and her arms crossed tightly. He tells the driver where to go and apologizes for the delay before turning to her.

"What's wrong? I'm didn't mean to make—"

Lily leans toward him, resting a hand on his chest and taking him in. "No, it's…" _I think I could love you._ She wants to say the words, but she doesn't know how sure she is. She likes Michael, likes him a lot. He's not perfect by any means, but neither is she. The two of them have misunderstandings, mainly stemming from the fact that she has to keep so much hidden. There is a part of her that wants to give him more, wants to love him because of his honesty and loyalty and kindness. Still, another part of her doesn't know if he is ready, if she is ready, to give her secret to him. When he sees her, he _sees_ Lily. She has to get to know him, he has to get to know her. There are no preconceived notions (at least not ones that he hasn't formed himself) or half tries flying about her.

"Why did you look at the reporter like that?" Michael asked. "You seemed…different tonight."

Lily looked at him and tilted her head. She was in full-on crowd mode, reverting back to who she was when she dated Scorpius. That part of her she didn't realize she changed, the one who used a polite smile as armor. "I don't think you understand."

"What are you talking about?"

"I know her, she's not—" Lily held her tongue. "Just forget it." She leaned against him, going in for a kiss on his cheek. The look he gives her is a blank. They're quiet the rest of the night, until they get to their building.

"You have to tell me sometime." His voice is low as they cross the lobby and head towards the stair case. "I love you, but there are so many things that you tell me to forget, to me that I don't understand…It's getting to be too much."

"You love me?" A coy smile crosses his face as she reaches for his hand.

"Of course that's what you focus on."

"I was thinking that tonight, that I…" She leaves out the words 'think' and 'could' because it would seem like a slap in the face after he so blatantly said it. "Love you."

"Good, because I at least want to meet your family."

When she's alone in her apartment, Lily tries to clear her head, but doesn't keep from panicking. How much longer can she keep this up with Michael?


	8. Chapter 8

The next day she goes to work and stops in the gift shop. _Lumos_ magazine is sitting there innocuously. She doesn't want to support, but grabs it anyway and gives the teenager behind the register coins before heading out the door. She promised to meet Michael at the police station, something she greatly dreaded. Apparently, not everyone had seen her at the ball and she was still 'Michael's mystery woman'. She snorted at that, but figured she owed him at least this.

As she walks, she looked down at the magazine. It's not her on the front cover, thank Merlin for that, but in the right hand corner she sees curled writing reading: _Lily Potter tells all!_ "That bitch," she mutters and stops, stepping off to the side, to look inside. She flips to the page and nearly half of it is filled by the picture of Lily kissing Michael. He looks dashing in his uniform and she looks…happy. _The Politics of Love_ , is what the article reads, _Ever since the infamous breakup of the wizarding world's golden couple, Scorpius Malfoy and Lily Potter, the youngest daughter of Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley has managed to stay out of the spotlight. Many speculated it was because of her work schedule as an auror at St. Mungo's, but others—us included—wondered if there was another reason. I stumbled across Lily at a function for the City of London police raising money for various charities hoping to talk with a man that has given up the wizarding world for the muggle, but was surprised to find Lily. She has not lost her fashion sense and looked stunning in a classic gown of navy blue that complimented her hair, and the suit of her lover, Michael Collins. Collins is a member of the City of London police and appears to be smitten with the youngest Potter, but he has no clue to her true identity. After I spoke with him, she seemed very adamant that he was_ not _to know that she was a witch. This brings to light many questions, is the relationship serious or is Lily out for some fun? If you heard her tone or so the way they were wrapped up in each other you could clearly see that this was not a farce. It is a deeper seated issue, one that stems from the Ministry's clear stance on keeping muggles separate from the wizarding world…_

Lily stuffed the magazine in her purse and buried her head in her hands. It wasn't horrid, a bit soppy for her taste, but now there is no choice but to tell her parents about him. As much as she wants to go to the Ministry or the Prophet immediately she knows that she should go see Michael and goes inside the police station, stopping at the front desk where a man is typing away on his computer. Lily thinks the device looks strange, even after her aunt Hermione giving her brief lessons on it. "Hello, where's Officer Collins desk?"

"Uh, what's your business? He's a bit tied up, but someone else could assist you."

Lily shook her head. "No, no—"

"Oh! You're Lily aren't you? I saw you at the fundraiser, my name's Marc."

"I think I remember you." She gives him a sweet smile and rests a hand on the desk. "I do! We danced right? Some weird song."

"Weird? It was a classic."

She furrowed her eyebrows. To her, a classic was the Weird Sisters or Celestina Warbeck. "I just never listened to that type, more of a…" She bit her lip trying to figure out how to describe what she listens to. "Rock type of person."

"Michael's desk is just over there." He gestures to a doorway to a room filled with desks and whiteboards and computers…a muggle version of the auror office.

"Thanks." She moves forward, but when she steps forward she feels like the world is at a tilt.

"You alright?"

"Fine, long day at work." She makes herself move forward, forcing even breaths with each step she takes. It doesn't take long to locate Eric. "How are you?"

"He's having you come to work already?" Eric whistled lightly as he leaned back in his chair, putting his feet up on the desk. "You better watch out, Michael _never_ has his girlfriends at work-Hey, what are you doing?"

Lily has started walking towards a whiteboard set kitty corner to several desks, Michael's included. There are pictures taped to it, lines, and notes written. One image in particular captures her attention…The object looks unfamiliar, oddly shaped, then she remembers the word, gun.

 _"_ _Just put it down before anyone gets hurt," the woman auror says._

 _"_ _I know what you're doing!" the man shouts. "Who are you really?" He points the object directly at her._

 _"_ _I told you already, Rosie Walters, Metro PD." Her wand is missing but she stands in front of him in her robes, opened loosely, the belt part of her wand holster revealed as is her muggle styled clothing._

 _"_ _You don't act like a cop, hell, you don't even look like a cop."_

 _"_ _Do you want to see my badge?" She twists her body to reveal an ID badge clipped to her belt._

 _"_ _We want to help, just put that down…" The even toned voice belongs to a thin man in robes like the woman._

 _"_ _Get out of here," she hissed, then she heard sirens…_

"Lily, what are you doing?" Eric reached for her, tugged her away from the board. "Haven't you seen a gun before? God…are you having a panic attack."

"No…" Lily paused a moment to collect herself. "I don't have hear palpitations, no nausea, trembling or numbness…I'm fine."

"Sit down, what's the matter with you?" he asked.

Her head was spinning, whirling around her, her mind wanted to show her more. Words flashed in her mind… _A life will be lost. A woman with the heart of a lioness, only trying to protect her world will die a muggle death. She has shown that harmony can exist in the wizarding world, but more lives will be lost until magic can be in harmony with muggle._ "I really have to go…"

"I don't think you should—"

"Do you have a bit of parchment?"

"Parchment, what the hell?"

Lily shakes her head at the slips and fumbles around looking, finally finding a post-it note to leave for Michael. As she's scrawling at note, her hands not seeming capable of working the silly pen. She feels a hand on her shoulder and sees the face of Michael, a mix of happiness and worry. "Lily, what are you doing?"

"I have to go." Her voice is soft. "Sorry." Their eyes meet and Lily is there, but they seem far away. She drops the pen and the paper before backing away to leave. She's out the door when she hears her name being called.

"Where are you going?"

"I need—"

"You could have told me if something came up." He stops a few feet in front of her. "Eric said that…are you alright?"

"Fine."

"You're not fine!" Michael took a breath and pinched his nose. "I'm getting tired of this."

"Tired of what?"

"You putting up a damn wall. Every time I ask you something you avoid the question!"

"It will make sense…just trust me." She looked at him, pleading with her eyes, but Michael looked down at his feet.

"I can't," he said. "Lily, I do trust you, but there's all these things I don't know. All these secrets about you that you refuse to talk about. And then you have a panic attack in the bull pen after you see a picture of a gun…"

"We're over then." Her voice was soft and tears appeared to be gathering in the corner of her eyes. "It's not you, I just…I'm not ready and I can't do it." She wanted him, but…Lily wanted him because he made her feel safe in a way that no wizard could. That's why she walked away from him and didn't even turn around.

Scorpius walked in the room with a file in one hand and two badges in the other before he stopped at his desk, setting both the badges down and splaying open the pages. Aurors looked at him, including Albus who was currently perched on his desk.

"Right, so I was asked to brief you on a case by Potter. Not that one." Scorpius ran a hand through his hair as he looked down and then up again. "The Ministry is concerned because of a robbery at muggle/wizard bar. This one had both types of currency. The thief got suspicious and there have been a number of other break-ins. This is out of our jurisdiction since the culprit appears to be muggle, however we don't know if it is one or several. London PD has allowed us to be involved as long as we keep low." Scorpius looked around at the faces and then picked up his badge. "We've been issued Metro PD badges with aliases to help us when we are in the muggle world."

"Why do we have an alias?" Roxie asked, reaching over to grab her badge and then frowning at the fake name.

"For most of us, there is no record of our existence in the muggle world and the Ministry wants us to keep it that way." Scorpius then grabbed his badge. "Besides some of our names aren't exactly typical muggle names." He shared a look with Albus, a slight smile playing at his lips.

Soon enough, the group dispersed to each of their own jobs. Albus went off with one of other groups that was going out into the field. Scorpius and Roxie were stuck with holding down the fort. They were hiding under mounds of paperwork when the door opened. He looked up and saw the person he least expected, Lily. She had a panicked look on her face as she walked over.

"Where's my dad?" she asked as she stopped in front of Roxie's desk. Her hair was pulled back like she normally had for work, face devoid of makeup, but wearing muggle clothes.

"He's out now," Roxie answered and then looked at Scorpius with a very pointed look.

"What do you need?" Scorpius asks, then notices how she takes a step back at his voice.

"I just…I think I had a prophecy."

"Score, I'm going to find Uncle Harry, you—"

"But—"

Roxie is already gone and Scorpius is left with Lily who looks at him. "Come on, we can go to one of the conference rooms."

She glares at him, but follows him anyway. Lily doesn't sit down once inside, but places her purse on the table. Scorpius recognizes what is going on, the distant look in her eyes, the way she wants to move.

"What was it about?" he asks.

"I…You probably don't remember, but the vision I used to have, it's back and…" She took him in and then reached inside her purse to pull out the slip of paper that she wrote the words on when they were flashing through her head.

Scorpius took it and looked at the words. "This is yet?"

"Yeah." She claps a hand over her mouth and Scorpius watches as her face twists in a pain. She backs up until she hits the wall and sinks down to the floor. "Make it stop, Score…" She says a few moments later.

"You said I triggered your visions."

"You did, but…I saw the words when I was in the police station."

"What were you doing in the police station?" he asks.

"Look in my bag, there's a magazine, it'll explain everything."

Scorpius sat beside her, summoning the magazine and flipping through the pages. Lily looks so happy with that man, kissing his neck like she always used to do to him. When he reads the article, though, it's clear what triggered her vison.

"He wanted me to tell him everything, but I couldn't." She clapped the hand over her mouth again as tears pricked at her eyes. "I scared him half to death, because it looked like I had a panic attack and…"

Scorpius laughed, he didn't meant to, but he recognized what had happened, just seeing Lily it was clear that it wasn't any different from when she first started having them. However wonderful this Michael might be, dealing with things like visions or magic wasn't something a muggle would ever understand.

"Merlin, where's my dad?" She lifted the hand from her mouth and swiped at her eyes with the back of it.

"Come here." He set aside the magazine and held out an arm. There was a split second of hesitation from Lily, but then she leaned against him, letting her body relax. "I'm scared, too," he said.

"Why?" she murmured.

"Your vision just cements it."

Lily looked up at him turned from under his arms and wrapped hers around his. In that moment, the tension that had built up over the three years began to fade. Suddenly, they seemed to have the friendship that they lost.


	9. Chapter 9

The future came too soon. Lily was on her shift, a normal day shift like she had all week. For once she wasn't exhausted and was pouring over patient records for the person who was waiting for her in exam room 3. It should have gone without any trouble, she should have left in two hours, and gotten dinner at Teddy's house. She hadn't seen him in ages and was looking forward to spend time with Vickie, him, and Stella.

She was looking over the notes, quill in hand, marking the things that she was going to ask them. That was when the door burst open and she saw the aurors rush in. She didn't see the patient, but that was routine as aurors were trained to apparate injured people. Stepping forward to help, she felt her arm being grasped. "Go treat your patient and then take a break," Ella ordered.

"I always handle auror cases, I'm the best at curses…" She looked at her and tilted her head. "No, the last time you wanted me out it was Teddy, please tell me—"

"Potter." Her voice was steady and calm. "Do as I say."

The world felt like it tilted and it felt like she was hit as images flooded through her mind, voices too…The prophecy overlay all of that as the loudest voice in her head. "No. No…" She looked over and she saw Scorpius come in looking like she never saw him before. His eyes were wide and frightened…there was _blood_ on his robe but he didn't look like he was bleeding. "Who was it?"

Her knees felt weak as the folder dropped from her hands and she gripped at the counter. "Please tell me…"

There was shouting across the room, exactly like she had seen in her mind. Scorpius was yelling, he never yelled, especially not at someone that was trying to do their job. As she stood frozen, she saw Albus rush into the rooms. He gripped Scorpius' arm and she watched as they talked. Albus comforted him, then the next thing she knew Scorpius seemed to collapse in on himself. The vision had seemed odd to her after the day in the conference room, but she couldn't bring herself to move. This was supposed to be the future, she could intervene, but something about it just seemed strange.

"Ella?" One of the other Healers appeared. "Charlotte sent me here due to the nature of the case."

"I can do my job," Lily replied steadily.

"Potter, you are not putting a patient at risk. I'll give you time to collect yourself, but if you can't be in that room in five minutes, I'm sending you home and you are staying there until further notice. Understood?"

She nodded. Control was something that she could not afford to lose, not in her line of work. It was common with younger Healers, when you weren't accustomed to dealing with dying. Some threw up, others cry, some simply froze…Lily had been able to handle it in strides with only a few moments hesitation. Sometimes it was hard on her when she got home, images kept on flashing through her eyes. It was part of the reason why living alone was so hard for her when she started the more hands on part of her training. Feeling, though, wasn't a weakness. You had to be able feel the emotions, let them wash over you without them taking over your actions. Eventually you felt numb to it, tears didn't prick at your eyes and your stomach didn't roll. Feeling numb was alright, as long as you still cared about what happened. If you feel numb to the point where death doesn't matter to you, then it's time to quit.

"Are you ready, Lily?" Ella asked.

"I have to do my job," she said, taking a deep breath as she looked down at the file. Al and Scorpius had sank down to the floor, her brother had a hand on his back as her friend held his head in his hands. Something inside her said that Albus would be better at dealing with it than she was. She should stick to her job, there was people she _could_ help.

After three patients, ranging from a broken arm to a potion gone wrong, she was able to leave. She stripped out of her Healer robes and put on the set of clothes she had in her locker before she left. Her father was here now, she knew that much. He was busy fielding questions from reporters and Ministry workers. Ginny had arrived as well, but was with George and Angelina. Lily's heart broke when she saw her Uncle sitting there without any trace of humor on his face. Angelina, though, was the one with tears on her face as she gripped her husband's hand. Fred hadn't made an appearance, but Lily suspected her brother was with him.

"Lily, wait," the fill-in healer said as she came towards her with a piece of parchment. "Your brother sent you a message." She pushed it towards the red-head before going back to her work at the desk. Lily looked down and saw the note, _I'm still expecting you to come over, you're not staying at your flat alone._

She shook her head with a smirk on her face as she shoved it in her jeans pocket. The apparition didn't take long before she appeared at Teddy's doorstep and let herself in. A tea kettle is going off, but her god brother is nowhere to be seen. Walking to the kitchen she takes out the teabags and prepares it with just a bit of honey and a dash of milk. Murmuring a spell to keep them warm she wraps her hand around each of the handles before wandering down the hall. "Teddy, it's Lily." The door to the bedroom creaks open and she sees his auror robe on the ground, he's seated on the chest in front. His hair is only a few shades from his ordinary blond, but it's dull like dishwater. His eyes are the stormy greyish brown of a churning river in the middle of flooding season.

"Thanks, Lil." His voice is gravely and eyes look about ready to cry. She sits down next to him and sips the tea. "Stella is at my Grandma's house, and Vicky…Vicky's with Dom."

Merlin, how had Lily not thought of Dom? Her and Roxie were basically attached at the hip since they were born. The two of them never seemed to go a day without speaking to one another. Still, they sat in silence after that before they drained their cups. Teddy sat his on the ground and Lily did the same. Before she knew what hit her he embraced her, head resting on his shoulder. She felt the dampness from the tears but didn't hear him cry. Words caught in her throat as they held each other.

"She can't be gone," he whispered. "I…She was like Vicky's sister, hell, she was like _my_ sister."

Lily clutched at her brother. Teddy had always been an image of strength to her. Never had she seen him cry. She'd seen him angry, yelling and screaming, cursing his parents or Voldemort or her father or whatever else he could think of. He never yelled at her. There was nothing reserved for her except for fierce protectiveness.

"Stella wanted to be just like her, you know?"

Lily pulled away from him and forced herself to look in his eyes. "Don't say wanted, the Healers are trying their hardest."

"She was _shot,_ Lily. I know our job is dangerous, but no one should have to deal with that. If I'd been—"

"No. Don't even go there. Roxie was doing her job and maybe she needed help, or maybe there was nothing you could have done except have gotten shot yourself." Lily looked him in the eyes and Teddy knew it was true.

Late that night they found out Roxie was still hanging on, but Lily knew they were only getting their hopes up unless something happened to change the prophecy. She was dressed in a pair of Victoire's old jeans and Teddy's shirt, with wet hair twisted into a mess of a bun. She was supposed to work today, but didn't have to be in until five.

"Lily, wait!" she heard someone call and saw Michael walking towards her with coffee and a bag from the café.

"You said we were over," she commented dryly as frowned looking for her physical key now that he was watching. "If you want to talk this out you should have done it a few days ago."

"I've been trying, but I finally found your schedule back." The one she had copied to give to him. He had done the same. She crumpled his up and shoved it in the drawer. "Can I come in?"

"I can't deal with this right now." Her fingers curled around the key as she pulled it out to open the door.

"Can we at least talk about why you're so opposed to telling me things? If it'll help I'll sit down and lay out my whole family history…Hell, I detail my days in the police academy…"

She sighed. "It's not about you not telling me enough, it's about _me_. I'm being selfish, alright? And I you know what? I don't give a damn."

"But you do," he said. "God, Lily, I just…When I first met you I thought I had you pegged for sure. Then, I find out a nurse and hear you talk about your family…Now, it's like the Berlin wall has been rebuilt between us."

"Berlin wall? What kind of shit is that?" Lily asked, looking at his face she shook head and pursed her lips. "We had fun, just leave it at that." It was more than that, if she let herself she could love him. She liked how he could make her laugh, liked how they could fall asleep next to each other, loved how he stood his ground… He was so _safe_ , but she knew his safety was an illusion like a gun without a trigger pulled. Michael didn't even realize that his presence could be perceived as a threat. Lily knew these thoughts were going into a dangerous territory, one that Voldemort and his followers treaded into, but it was hard not to feel that way. Before she could answer the door to the stair well opened to reveal Teddy. He didn't look much better than last night, and she suspected he used a bit of his powers to camouflage the dark circles under his eyes.

"Can I do something for you?" Michael asked.

"I'm here for Lily," he grumbled, stepping forward.

"This is Teddy, my brother." Opening the door she gestured to Teddy. He wanted her to go in first, but she ushered him through, giving only one last look at Michael. It was easier this way, letting him go before she got too attached.

Inside, Teddy was looking at the photos with perplexment written across his face at the stock still photos. "So it's true, you have a muggle boyfriend."

"Had." She stood beside him, watching his eyes linger on a photo. It was one that she found and wanted a copy of, the second Order of the Phoenix. Lily didn't know when it had been taken, but his parents stood beside one another in it.

"Vicky went with Stella to Grandma Weasley's house, all of us are supposed to come over."

Lily's eyes fixed on a picture of the family, Roxie and Dom had their arms thrown around each other looking in every way an opposite. Dom's hair was long and silky, white-ish blonde in color. Roxie hair tumbled to her shoulders in wild curls, her bronzed skin, and loose vibrant clothes a sharp contrast to Dom's creamy skin with tight clothes in demure colors. Looking at the photo she saw what would never be again. Then she glanced at the Order's photo and it was like someone hit her in the stomach, knocking all the air out of her. What if this turned into a third war? What if, in thirty years from now, too many of her cousins died too young.

The next thing Lily registers is Teddy's arms around her as sobs wrack her body. Visions of past and future flash through her mind and she feels so insignificant. As a healer the worst thing that you can do is see someone dying and not be able to do a thing to change it.

Roxie's funeral was exactly a week later. Afterwards, most everyone ended up at Molly Weasley's house. None of the normal energy was there. George wasn't laughing, Angelina was nearly silent, James and Fred weren't joking…Scorpius took a cup of tea and looked out the window, he saw Lily outside and sighed. It was so much like when he first came here. He poured another and went outside to where she was.

"Thank you," she murmured. She looked at the cup he handed her and sighed. "Your speech was nice."

Scorpius delivered a small speech on behalf of the Ministry, about Roxie's work as an auror. Dom was the one that delivered her eulogy, the blonde barely made it about halfway through the speech before Angelina took over her, handling the speech with grace and not looking at her husband.

"Did you hear about Al and me?" Scorpius stood right next to her, their arms brushing. "Your dad thought it would be best to assign us to be partners. I'm on desk duty for a while though, but Al never really got of it."

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"What for?"

"We never apologized to each other but sometimes I think we should have done that more often." She bit her lips and twisted her eyes shut. "Visions don't always come true, seers can look into the future, but there's never a certainty that's what will happen." Opening her eyes, it was clear that tears stood in them. "Sometimes it's nearly impossible to change, I didn't know it was Roxie in the vision." With her free hand she wiped the tears away. "While no one may have had the power to change that, I can change my own future."

"Lily, you've wanted to be a Healer for…" _We both need to focus right now._ The image of an 18 year old Lily drifted into his mind, explaining why they had to break up.

"I'm not quitting, I might not even leave St. Mungo's, but—"

"I applied for a position at Durmstrang, it's the only school with a slot open. There was an incident with the one of the teachers and they have to take a leave of absence."

"Lily, that's—that's halfway across Europe…"

"London may be my home, but it's time for a change." She wrapped her arms around him, then stood on her tip toes to plant a kiss on his cheek. "Take care of yourself." With those words, Lily Luna Potter walked out of his life for a second time.


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: It's been forever, but I have quite a bit written now. Please, please, review!**

* * *

It took a train, a boat, and a portkey before Lily arrived at the gates of Durmstrang Institute. Hogwarts could look spooky, at least at night, but it usually looked enchanting, a warm glow coming from the windows, plants rustling in the wind, a still lake reflecting the moon, and the entire sky lit up with stars. Durmstrang castle had none of the majesty of Hogwart's castle, and was much smaller. There were only four stories and the building was built out of large, grey blocks. Every bit of it appeared to serve some purpose. The building was all the same height, save for one tower that Lily assumed was a guard tower, and it looked out just high enough that one would be able to see the sea in the distance.

"Miss Potter?" a voice called. She saw a man in thick red cloak behind the gate.

"Yes, I hope I'm not late." She held on tighter to the handle on her trunk that was currently floating.

"Right on time, come in." His voice was heavily accented, she suspected that German was his native language due to how he pronounced things. The gates swung open of their own accord and she walked a bit faster to see the man's face. He was a new Headmaster, had been for about three years. Her father had met him once, but her father met with all the Heads of schools to insure safety was priority. "Not all of the students have returned. I will introduce you in two days' time, during our dinner before classes commence. You can use the time to get acquainted." He pulls a bit of parchment out of his pocket, holding it out to her. "This is an invaluable tool, our school is small, but easy to get lost in."

"Thank you." Lily was glad that the school sent her one of their uniform cloaks and that she had invested in a pair of boots. The temperature was frigid, even inside. The halls were lit only well enough to have some sort of visibility. "Where are we going?"

"Teacher quarters are easiest to access through your office," he explained. "Inside your office there is another door and a set of stairs, it'll lead you to the corridor just outside your bedroom." He came to a stop and turned to look her over. "The incident with our last instructor was unfortunate. We take education and discipline seriously here. Our students strive for excellence and nothing less than that, and as a teacher you should help them reach that goal and uphold them to a high standard. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Now, come along. I'll show you to your classroom, office, and quarters. Then, I'll leave you be. Do you want me to have the kitchens send you something?"

"If it's not too much trouble." Soon enough they arrived at the office and he took her up the stairs to where her room was. After unlocking the door and handing her the key along with a schedule, he was gone. Lily breathed a sigh of relief, she made it here. The room was tiny, probably a quarter the size of her apartment with a bed in one corner, a small window, a wardrobe, table and chair and a small stove. There was a door that led to a closet sized bathroom. It brought her back to the days as Head Girl and a part of that made her smile. Hogwarts was like a home away from home, eventually Durmstrang would get there.

* * *

Scorpius smiled when Al dropped a paper cup of tea on his desk. He's bent over a pile of paperwork on the call that they just went out on. Al's not Roxie, but he's a damn good partner. They mesh well together, both able to get along in amiable silence. Things have slowed down around here, it's January after all. The two of them were put back in the field a few weeks after the funeral, once they got things squared away. Ironically enough, as soon as Al and Score became partners, Lily had already stopped working at St. Mungo's. She was gone now, off in Norway or Sweden or wherever that school was.

"Thanks," he mutters.

"You offered to finish up, it's the least I can do." Al is seated across from Scorpius. Scorpius moved all of his things over to the empty desk across from Al's, he being more comfortable there than having Al sit in Roxie's old desk. Though, he did tease him that he had so much crap it would be hard to relocate everything.

There both sitting there when Harry walks through the door with an armload of folders. "I've gotten some pressure to review some cold case files, can you guys stay a bit later?" He drops one on each desk, eyebrows raised in question. Scorpius nods before he moves onto the next team.

"Listen, you finished up that, I can read these over and you can get going. You're probably late already."

"Late?" Scorpius asks, his eyebrows furrowing in question.

"Steve…" Al prompted.

"Oh…Oh!" He looked down at his watch. "I still have a bit of time and he always meets me in here anyway."

"Score…" Al gave him a pointed look. "I'd love to—"

"He's my boyfriend," Scorpius snapped.

Al held up his hands in a surrender position. "I'm just saying that if I was the one dating him, I'd try to get out a _little_ early."

"Unfortunately, I have a job that needs to get done. I can't just give it you." Albus keeps quiet at that and Scorpius feels a sting of disappointment. Roxie would have torn the folder from his hands and demanded he leave this instant. For some reason he can't bring himself to get up, he would rather stay here. So he does. He and Albus linger until they are one of the last teams. The door swings open and Steve appears looking none too entertained.

"You were supposed to meet me downstairs twenty minutes ago."

"Usually you come in." Scorpius' eyes barely lift from the paper. "I have to finish up here."

"You're done," Al told him. "And so am I…" He got to his feet and took off his robe, folding it into a neat pile along with his badge in his drawer. "Have a nice night."

Scorpius sighed and did the same, all while Steve perched himself on the edge of his desk, watching him impatiently. "I know you've been going through a hard time, and I'll talk with you, but I'm not going to put up with this."

"Steve, look, it's been a long day and I lost track of time. Harry gave us something to do before we left."

Steve looked at him, leaning forward to rest a hand on his face, pulling him in for a kiss. Scorpius' instinct was to pull away. "What the hell was that? I'm at work."

"In an empty office."

"Let's just get dinner," Scorpius suggested.

"How about, I grab takeout and head home. You do the same, but think about this, about the two of us. I don't care if you just want a fuck-buddy, but I happen to like shagging people who are at least interested." Steve walked away from him and Scorpius let out a sigh before exiting behind him.


	11. Chapter 11

She had been here one day and already she was homesick. Everything was so _cold_ …As she walked down the halls, she swore she could see her breath clouding the air. Outside the cold felt more natural. Lily pulled her lined cloak tighter around her body as she looked at the stars. It was hard to believe that these were the same stars that she saw at Hogwarts. She thought to Firenze, how he knew every single story about them. They only offered Astronomy as an elective for younger students, it was deemed unimportant other than for the purpose of navigating. A part of Lily's heart broke when she heard it, it stung how the Headmaster talked of Divinations when she sat down for a meeting about her lesson plans. Obviously, her visions weren't something that she would make the man privy to.

She sighed as she stood to look up at the sky. Immediately her eyes found the Scorpius constellation and she smiled. A part of her still loved him, yearned to be with him. Would it be easy to fall back together? Maybe, or maybe not, but she suspected that he was better off in London. Scorpius may never admit this, but he's ready to settle down. Soon enough he'll be put off field duty and assigned to one of the other departments like Teddy. Eventually he'll find someone that he can love easily. Lily, though, isn't ready to go home yet. Durmstrang is an adventure she surely needs.

"Excuse me?" A voice calls out. Lily spins to see a man approaching her. "Do you realize how late it is?"

"Yeah, I just…I needed some air."

"Curfew was an hour ago," he says. His voice is thick with an accent, but the composition of the sentences are correct. She suspects German isn't his native language, unlike the Headmaster.

Lily eyebrows furrow together. The Headmaster hadn't informed her of a _staff_ curfew. In fact, there was a rotation for staff members to circle the corridors to make sure everyone remained in bed.

"I have never seen you before. What's your name?"

"Lily," she tells him.

"A stargazing Lily."

Her lips quirk up into a smile at the pun. "What's yours?"

"Krum. Professor Krum, you'll see me if you have flying lessons."

Lily lets out a shocked laugh. "There's a misunderstanding, I'm not a student. I'm the interim potions professor."

"Sorry." He let out a laugh, a loud barking laugh. "Usually, more… _mature_ teachers are hired. I'm the youngest by fifteen years." He looks her over. "Have you taught before or fresh from university?"

"No. I was a Healer or rather still am, my license is valid." She crosses her arms over her chest.

"Good," he says. "With how many accidents there are, it'll be good to have another Healer on staff." He looks down at his watch. "There's a staff meeting before breakfast, we better get going."

"I almost forget." She motions to move towards the building, but he goes away from it. "Where are you going?"

"I have one of the cabins on the edge of the property," he explained. "I don't really have an office since the pitch is my classroom."

"I'll see you around."

"Yes, I hope so." He gives her a smile, waving her off.

* * *

Lily regretted your decision when she stood up in front of the school. Hundreds of pairs of eyes were fixed on her as she stood next to the Headmaster. She'd already earned one scowl from him for wearing jeans underneath her robes. There was no dress code for dinner and it was acceptable for wizards to wear muggle clothing, but apparently they adhered to a strict standard of dress at Durmstrang.

"Professor Potter was educated at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, following that she moved onto St. Mungo's Healer Academy. She is an asset to our staff and we are happy to have her, especially following Professor Barton's absence."

She gave them a smile, but didn't say anything to the students who looked at her blankly. They didn't look the least bit excited, there was disinterest written across all of their faces. A few looked quite unimpressed. Lily bit back the smile and took a seat at the teacher's table. None of them were old family friends, quite a few had detached themselves from wizarding world gossip, so they had absolutely no idea who she was. It was exactly what she wanted, exactly what she had with Michael, but it was safer than being with muggles. There was no lies involved and she got a blank slate. That was what she wanted. She had to keep telling herself that every time she wanted to leave this frigid castle.

The following morning, Lily stopped by the kitchens to grab breakfast before eating it in her classroom. Her Uncle Neville sent her over some plants that not only doubled as decoration, but fresh potion supplies. Sure, there was a greenhouse here, but she didn't know the professor or trust him like she did Neville. Of course, he sent her over a few packages of his specialty tea blend that always made her look forward to the morning.

Her first class of the day was a fifth year class and after the bell rung she waited at the front of the room for the students to file in. There weren't many girls and the boys looked at her with disdain. She hoped it was because of the early hour.

"Good morning," she said. "I'm Professor Potter. I've looked at Professor Barton's notes and found where you have seemed to have left off. I'll be continuing how he does this things, lecture today and potion making on Thursday." Lily turned around and reached for a chalk, when she did this she heard a few whispers…Before she even turns around she says, _"Expilliarmis!"_ and spins to face her students. A wand clatters to the ground as she rests her hands on her hips. A few stare at her wide eyed for the use of wandless magic, but it's not that impressive for a Healer or an Auror. Those professions it's practically essential for you to learn it.

" _Accio wand,"_ she says, after lazily reaching for hers. The student's wand is in her hand, she rests in the drawer. "You can get it after class, you won't be needing it anyway." She looks out over everyone with a smile on her face. "I was hoping we could start class without any trouble, but it appears I will have to have a discussion with you anyway. I may not appear like your other professors, but I expect the same respect from all of you. Do not mess with me because I'm not going to report you to the Headmaster, you won't get off that easily. Is that clear?"

No one said a word.

"I asked a question, I expect an answer." The response was chorus of various answers. Lily took a deep breath. "Now, fifth year is a pivotal time as you will be taking an exam at the end of this year. One of the potions that will be covered is the Draught of Peace…" She picked up the chalk in hand, feeling better to write it, than have a spell casted. "It is an extremely difficult potion that tests the precision of the maker. Every direction must be followed exactly otherwise there will be disastrous results." Once again there was chatter. "Gentlemen, have I not made myself clear of what I expect in my classroom?"

"Crystal," one of the boys responded as he leaned back in his chair.

Lily took a sharp intake of breath. The boy was so like James it made her want to rip her hair out. "Then do you care to tell me what's so interesting that you disrupted the lesson?"

"No," another boy spoke softly.

"Excuse me?" She set the chalk down and took a step forward. "What's your name?"

"His name is Nikolas. Mine is Jakob." The first one smirked. "And we already covered this potion."

"Is that so? For OWLs, you need to know every step. Can you tell me how the moonstone is prepared?"

"I don't know ground?" Nikolas answered.

"Powdered," Jakob said, slowly pronouncing the word.

"Very good," Lily walked forward even further. "It needs some work Nikolas. In fact, you have an essay due by this time next week on the Draught of Peace and what importance _powdered_ moonstone and the hellebore syrup has on it. Additionally, the effects it can have on a potion and the dangers of those mistakes. Anyone who receives less than an A will have to report to a mandatory tutoring session on Wednesday, because there is no way any of you are brewing a potion that is so potentially dangerous it could set your robes on fire."

* * *

"Merlin, Score, are you sure you'll be fine?" Albus looked at his partner as a healer finished bandaging up his arm. Every so often, he would wince.

"I'm fine." He grimaced as the Healer tightened what she was doing. "Can I have more pain potions?" Looking at her, his eyes narrowed a bit. Merlin, if it was Lily he could only imagine what she would tell him to do.

"Not if you want go home by yourself," she said. "With what I've already given you, most people wouldn't be able to tolerate."

"I'll make sure he gets home," Al said as he leaned back in his chair. "What? Dad'll kill me if I don't make sure my partner gets home safe." He gave Scorpius a smirk and the injured man sighed. He'd fought with Roxie about it many times, it seemed she had an affinity for getting injured on duty…His face paled when he realized what he actually thought.

"That may be a good idea, Potter. You look like you need another pain killer." The Healer finished her work before she came back with a small vial. The potion was an odd color and tasted horrendous, but soon enough there was a calm spreading over his body. Albus helped him to his now unsteady feet and guided him to the apparition point.

"Your place or mine?"

"Are you going to insist on staying?" Scorpius questioned, then looked over his friend who lifted an eyebrow. "Your flat, mine doesn't have much furniture, besides I think I still have some work clothes at your place."

"Come on Malfoy." He placed a hand on his friend shoulder, looking him over before they both felt the magic work, taking them to the apartment building.

Strangely enough, this had become part of their routine, spending evenings at each other's flats. They hardly ever spent the night unless one of them was injured, but they got along in amiable silence, Al usually ordered pizza and put a movie on, working the muggle TV set to Scorpius' amazement.

"You okay with the couch?"

"Fine, really." Scorpius reached for another slice of pizza, narrowly avoiding dropping it as the potion was still affecting his motor function. "It's funny after everything, you and I still ended up together."

"What are you talking about?"

"Just…when we started we were both little shits that hated each other for no reason and you still like me even _after_ I dated your sister."

Al sighed and set his plate down on the coffee table. "I don't know how you can stand my family after dating her." He looked at his friend. "You never talk about her, I know the two of you were close after being partners for three years."

"I just miss her." Scorpius set his plate of half-eating pizza down on the coffee table before he laid his hands on his legs. "I'm glad I have you as a partner." He looked down at his bandaged arm, burned badly by a curse gone wrong—or rather terribly right—when they were pursuing a dark wizard. The pain had subsided, but his feeling hadn't. "Perhaps, doing field work isn't for me."

"Score, you're a damn good auror, you know that?" Al looked at him.

"I felt like I was going to vomit the first time I obliviated someone's memory." He shook his head. "Today I couldn't block a curse and my first partner got killed on my watch."

"You're still not thinking clearly," Albus said. "Besides, you know what my dad says. He wants aurors that think twice, that are empathetic. Those qualities don't mean your weak, they don't mean that the job you do is sub-par, and they mean you're human."

"I've heard this before." He sighed.

"You may be the first partner I've kept for longer than a month and a half, but I know what it takes." He got to his feet. "We have to be to the office in the morning."  
"I'll apparate to my flat early," he said. "And thanks for—"

"I know." He gave him a half smile before he grabbed the box of pizza to stick in the fridge and helped Scorpius transfigure the couch into something moderately comfortable to sleep in. He may have lost Roxie, but he still had Al, and it seemed like the wasn't losing him any time soon.

* * *

Lily was in the middle of grading essays that Monday. She'd missed dinner, but would head to the kitchens later. When there was a knock at the door and she nearly made an unnecessary mark on the parchment. "You're supposed to be in your dorms at this hour, not—" She looked up and saw who it was. "Professor Krum."

"You can call me David, I promise." He walked in, oddly she noted. It was the way he carried himself, his shoulders at an awkward angle. "I'm actually here in a professional capacity. The nurse is busy there's a bug going around and—"

"How bad is it?" She barely glanced up. He didn't appear to be in serious pain. "I keep basic cures in the metal cabinet on the back wall. There's potions for headaches, stomach aches..."

"I might have made an unfortunate decision." The words sounded odd with his accent as he moved forward, a slight grimace of pain crossing his face when he touched his left shoulder.

"Again?" she set her quill down and gestured for him to come over. Moving things off the table, she motioned for him to sit down. "Damn, when do you people ever learn?"

"You people?"

"They're all the same. Aurors, Quidditch players…"

"I haven't played Quidditch since I was 19. This shoulder is what ended my career."

"Then you should be more careful," she murmured. "I took this job so I didn't have to keep on patching up people that put themselves in dangerous situations."

"I sense there is a story behind that."

Lily sighed and nodded before taking her wand out. Within seconds she had a pot of water boiling, a packet of tea flying towards her, and a sling. "I think this is all I can do. Unbutton your shirt." She watched his fingers undo them and realized no matter how clinical she made this, it would still be unfortunate if someone walked through the door. "There's no outward damage, but you can't keep healing this with a spell." She sighed. "I don't understand why wizards are so resistant to muggle techniques. The only thing that can help this is a painkiller and rest."

"Last I heard, willow bark tea is more of a wizard thing to do." He watched as floated a cup in his direction. She moved back toward her desk and settled down in his chair. "I actually came here under the direction of the other Professors. They wanted to me to get my arm checked out and make sure you're doing alright."

"I'm fine."

"They said to remind you to eat. Apparently, a house elf will be appearing with dinner shortly."

"Thanks."

"Do you need help grading papers?"

"Don't you teach flying and coach Quidditch?"

"I can read German, and a bit of Russian," he told her. "In addition to Bulgarian, but not many of the kids speak that here." He walked closer and set the mug on her desk. "Give me Emma Shue's paper."

"Emma?"

"Fifth year, probably don't notice her with all the commotion Jakob causes." He held out his and she dug through the pile before she saw the girl's paper. Lily stared at, then up at him. "The other kids help her out as best they can, the old Professor was fluent in it, so there never was a problem, but her writing in English is atrocious."

Lily groaned, buried her head in her hands. "I told the kids if they did badly on this essay I'd make them have a mandatory study session."

David raised his eyes at that.

"The Draught of Peace is dangerous if you do something wrong. I can't have smoke, poison bubbling in the cauldrons and students getting their robes set on fire." She wiped a hand over her face. "Do you know any other kids that don't speak English? I'm hopeless with languages."

"Fifth years are going to be the most trouble for you. Jakob used to fake not being fluent because Nikolas needed extra help and was too timid to ask. The pair of them have been friends since they roomed together first year. I wouldn't split them up, things could get ugly, fast."

Lily gave a smile at that. She thought of her and Scorpius when they were just friends. "I feel like I'm in over my head. I have no idea why I was hired for this job if I'm so grossly underqualified."

"Since the second wizarding war, you know more people are speaking English. I know a lot of families that have either left for America or came here because they wanted to start over. There are quite a few English citizens in attendance here currently."

Lily knew that was true. The language barrier had come into her mind, she had asked the headmaster in her first interview. He had said if there was really a problem there were charms to help her, and that other Professors could assist as best they could. It still didn't make her feel like she belonged. "Could you teach me? My cousins tried to teach me French much and it was a disaster, all I remember is a few curse words."

"That'll get the kids' attention." There was a knock at the door that interrupted him. David hurriedly finished buttoning his shirt before the house elf came in, dropped off a tray with a cheerful smile in Lily's direction and disappeared. Lily, though, didn't touch the food until she helped him into the sling and instructed him how to do it himself. "I'll promise to be more careful, but how long do I have to keep this contraption on for?"

"It's a pretty bad sprain," she said. "You could lose movement in it, more than you already have."  
He sighed. "You know I was just working with a group of kids, helping them with their technique. We have some good seekers, decent Beaters, and the Keepers are _amazing…_ " he sighs. "You should see the Chaser's, though."

"I was a chaser," Lily says with a smile. "If you want some help with the Quidditch club, I could work with Chasers."

"I sense there's something I need to do in return."

"Help me." She holds up Emma's essay with a sheepish smile on her face.


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: Sorry for the wait (is anybody actually reading this? Oh well.) but things have been crazy lately. I've been packing up to go to college so, there's that. I hope you like this chapter, it offers a bit of insight to why Lily left London (as per request by a reader) and some further introduction of one of my OC's. I hope you like him right now, because you might hate him soon enough...**

* * *

It takes a month, but Lily is settling into Durmstrang with ease. When spring comes, it's a bit warmer, but the snow turns into rain and the sky is as grey as ever. Most importantly of all she finally has peace and a chance to be by herself.

By some miracle, the students seem to like her, and not just in she's-a-teacher-I-can-take –advantage-of way. Wednesday tutoring nights aren't dreaded anymore, they are becoming a popularity. That's why she finds herself in her room after dinner, sitting beside a first year struggling with astronomy. She let it slip that it was one of her favorite subjects, and the next thing she knows there's this girl with an impossibly large book in her hand and a half finished worksheet standing in the doorway. Lily doesn't have the heart to tell her to leave, that this is mainly for advanced potions students that need help not blowing things up, so she sits beside her and teaches her little tricks.

In the corner, Nikolas is working with Emma and Jakob has his feet up on the desk, making rude comments in what she learned was Russian. None of the teachers have a very good grasp on it, which might be way he uses it, but she suspects that it is one of Nikolas' first languages and their thick as thieves.

"Where's the Professor?" she hears a voice ask. Granted, she does blend in with the students when she's sitting at a desk. She also doesn't make matters any better with a messy braid slung over her shoulder and an outfit that would give the Headmaster a heart attack. The kids seem to be more relaxed if she is, so she takes to wearing her flannel shirt and worn jeans combo again.

"Over here, Krum," she calls. "You good?" she asks the girl to receive a nod.

"That doesn't look like potions," he murmurs as he follows her back to the desk.

"It isn't, but I'm a sucker for astronomy." She shrugs and waves her hand to bring another chair to her desk. "Did you injure yourself or is this personal business?"

"I need a favor. I have to be gone for a few days and I need one of my flying classes covered."

Lily had found that David only works part time at the school. The other half of the time he does freelance journalism, mostly doing sport's stories. It was the only job he could get after he was badly injured at the age of 19. He was too young for coaching jobs, too inexperienced for much else unless he was willing to go back to school.

"Why me?"

"You're the only one I trust with my class," he whispered, voice dropping so low she could barely make it out. "Most of the time, the other teachers that cover it shuttle them off to the study hall. My class is the only time that some of these kids get out of the castle walls during the day."

"Fine," she huffed. "Just this once, but you owe me."

"Natürlich meine schöne Lilie," he responded with a smirk.

"Was that Bulgarian?"

"German." The smirk hadn't left his lips when he sauntered out of the room. Lily told herself that she had to concentrate. She was here for a fresh start, that was something she had to keep in mind.

* * *

For some reason, being at Durmstrang helped stave off the visions. Of course, it _did_ help that she took a mild draught before she went to sleep and did every technique possible to keep them away. Despite being with rambunctious teenagers and having to deal with a mound of paperwork every night she is remarkably less stressed. She missed her family that much was true. This job forced her to go the longest time since seeing them. Even at Hogwarts she always had at least 2 of her cousins along with her Uncle Neville.

Still, she didn't expect it when during her last class of the day she became lightheaded. "Are you alright, Professor?" he asked. The boy was a seventh year, rather quiet, but was a prefect for his dorm.

"Fine, is there something you need?" She gave him a brittle smile as she placed one hand on the desk, focusing on her breathing.

"I just have some questions about the notes were supposed to take."

"What about them?" She forced herself to focus. Visions had not bothered her in weeks, maybe she was sick.

"We've done notes before, but this format is confusing."

"It's called a formal write-up. It's too see for yourself how changing one ingredient or how an ingredient is prepared can affect the potion." She held out one hand for his paper and skimmed through it. "The explanation leading up to the experiment, as your observations are correct. You just need to analyze it now. Tell the importance of the exact amount, and if any variations would be useful."

"So, for example, you can dilute a potent sleeping draught in order to calm a person with anxiety."

"Exactly. Figure out how to translate it to your specific potion and you're all set."

Lily managed to calm herself down to the point where she was able to imagine a wall around her mind, putting up a barrier around it to keep the visions out. It works for a bit, but after all her classes are done she doesn't want to head to dinner. She doesn't need to, she doesn't have dining hall duty tonight.

Sleeping isn't an option, or at least doesn't feel like one for her. Her entire head is buzzing and she knows the mild draught she normally takes won't do a single thing for her. The next best thing is to stave off sleep naturally and distract herself. After brewing a large pot of tea, she sits down at her desk and begins to grade a pile of first year papers. About half way through dinner's normal hours, there's a knock at the door. Furrowing her eyebrows she lifts her hands and absentmindedly opens it. David is standing in the doorway with a concerned look on his face.

"Professor Hoffman said that you switched the night dining hall shift with him." He shut the door behind him as he walked forward. "Are you hungry?"

"I'm working," she says slowly. The words feel strange in her mouth, but she knows it's because her ears feel as though they are shoved with cotton. "I have a lot of papers to grade, especially since I used one of my prep periods to cover your class."

"You could have told me no." He studies her as he props himself against the table in the front row. "What is that?"

"Project proposals from seventh years," she replies, but the words are dancing in front of her eyes. She really should sleep, she only got a few hours the night before.

"Tomorrow is Saturday, you don't need to be doing that."  
She slams her hand down on the table, looking up at him. "Is there a point to you being here?"  
"I was going to invite you to get dinner. You look like you could use some time to relax."

"I'd rather not."

David sighed. "Come on, you'd be doing me a favor. I'm either alone or with people that are fifteen years older than me. I want to be with someone that's remotely my age."

Lily pushed away the papers. How easy would it be to just shut him? Push him away too. "I should just go to bed." When she gets up, she doesn't realize how badly the oncoming vision is affecting her. She walks a few steps forward and then fumbles. David jumps off the table and catches her arm.

"Are you sure you don't want something to eat?"

"Merlin, Krum," she mutters. "I'm a bloody healer, my blood sugar isn't low." Her shoulders slump. "Really, it's just been a long day."

"Change of scenery always helps me," he replied.

Lily decided to relent and when he held out his arm, she took it, surprised when she apparated. They must be able to lift the regulations for certain people. Still, when the arrived at the cottage she looked at, surprised that something like this was on the property. The castle could be seen in the distance, dim lights coming from the windows. "Why don't you take one of the rooms in the castle?" she asked as he led her into the small house.

"I'm gone off and on. I also wanted more privacy since teaching her isn't my only job. I have to pay for this, though. There are a few others that they're willing to rent out."  
"I don't plan on staying very long." She followed him through the short hallways to the kitchen and sat down at the table as he immediately put a kettle on before leaning back against a counter.

"When I took the job as a freelance sport's writer, I tolerated it because it was Quidditch, but I still wanted something else. I couldn't play anymore and I was too inexperienced to be a coach. Durmstrang was basically my home for seven years, that's why I came here." He crossed his arms over his chest. "Why did you come?"  
"Oh, it's…There's a lot of reasons and…it's a long story." She shrugged, wrapping her arms around her frame. The real reason was that she wanted to run, that she had an urge to do it again. It felt like she'd always been running from something ever since she broke up with Scorpius.

"I'm not good in the kitchen," he admits after the tea is finished. As he carries the mugs over, a container of milk and sugar floats to the table.

"I'm not very hungry." Lily wraps her hands around it, letting the warmth seep into her hands.

"We have time, there's no curfew," he teases, referencing when they first met.

Lily bit back a smile. David was detached enough from her that he wasn't a trigger, and put her at ease. "Why I came was many a result of politics and personal issues. Here you don't get that much of it, but there's a lot of controversy around integration with muggles and whether or not it should happen. My dad was raised my muggles and my mum's family embraces them with open arms. It was natural for me to find an apartment in muggle London, the land lord was a squib so I didn't have to worry about hiding from him and he could cover with the other residents…" She sighed shrinking into herself a bit. "I met this man, his name was Michael and he was…Uggh…" A smile crossed her face. "Infuriating, but I could hold my own with him."

"Was Michael a muggle?"

"Yeah, a police officer, it was kind of ironic?"

"The muggle part or the police officer?"

"Police officer, but that's a different story…Anyway, I genuinely liked him. He made me feel…content. But he kept on asking questions, and he kept on noticing things, it didn't help that my family drops in or likes to frequent muggle places."

"Did he find out?"

"No, but I went with him to a fundraiser and Paisley Wells caught us. She took pictures and published this article, called it _Politics of Love_. Made it out to be this dramatic story…"

"So you told him?"

"I couldn't. I wanted him so badly, but one of the reasons I liked him was because he didn't know anything. To him I was just Lily and Potter was any old surname. I wasn't Potter's Princess or James' little sister or Ginny and Harry's daughter…I was just _me_." She took a drink, and calmed herself down a bit. "I broke up with him the day the article was published"

"You came here because you broke up with someone?" David face was one of disgust and bewilderment all rolled together. It looked like he was about to launch into an empowered woman argument that would give her aunt Hermione a run for her money.

"No, but it was part of it." She clenched the mug tightly. How many years did she keep people in the dark with her visions? She still doesn't speak to her mother about them. "When I was working a few days later there was a terrible incident with an auror. It was my cousin, she was shot by a muggle."

"Oh, I'm sorry…"

"I wasn't the closest to her, but she's family, you know?" Lily shrugged her shoulders. "After that I just didn't want to deal with the media anymore and…When you're a Healer people look at you and think you hold all the answers in the world. I can help you if you have a hex or a curse or took a bad potion, when it's a gunshot wound…It makes you feel helpless."

Lily didn't relax, her body curled in further as she took a drink. In her mind, leaving London was justified. She might have liked her job for the most part, and loved being around her family, but she needed to move forward. Her entire life, she let other people define who she by her name. When she was dating Scorpius, people always thought she loved him in spite of the fact he was a Malfoy. She loved him because of the fact, because he knew exactly what she went through. What she didn't-but should have-anticipate was being thrust into the spotlight. Here at Durmstrang she was free from that and had time to think about her next move as a Healer.

"I can't tell you that I know exactly what you are talking about, but keep in mind I have lived through some similar experiences in regards to the media. I loved Quidditch, so very much, but the papers made it out like my father was forcing me to pursue it. When I got injured..." He shrugged. "People thought I was hiding out at Durmstrang because it was a safe place for me. It is, being here is like being at my second home, but I know I need to leave eventually."

"I guess we are in the same boat."

"Same boat?" He looked up at her with furrowed eyebrows. "I'm not good with English sayings quite yet."

"A similar situation," she explained, a smile pulling at her lips. "I'm actually getting hungry, do you want some help making something."

"Are you feeling better?"

The funny thing was, that Lily felt…different. Visions weren't pulling at her mind anymore…everything was quiet inside of her head.


	13. Chapter 13

Annoyance was written clearly across Lily's face as she ventured through the castle. Exams were upon them and she had much to grade, and many students to prepare for NEWTs. Yet, she was being summoned to the Headmaster's office for whatever reason. She halted outside the door and knocked, waiting for him to call out. He did a few moments later and she walked in, immediately sitting down in one of the chairs. One thing Lily knew was that she bristled his nerves, but for some reason he seemed amused by her. "Miss Potter, I apologize for taking your time, but there is an important matter to discuss."

"Listen, I can explain what happened last Wednesday, it was just a minor explosion—"

"No, that's not what I am talking about," he said with a frown on his face. "I want to offer you a position here, a permanent position. The Professor that was supposed to be returning has decided to retire and we want to line up a teacher for next year."

"I...I'll have to think about it. This was supposed to be temporary, give me a break before I go back into healing."

"Durmstrang needs someone like you. We're training to change, but change comes slow to place deeply rooted in tradition. The students have flourished with you as a teacher. Is there something we can do to encourage you to stay here?"

"No, it's…My home has always been in England. All of my memories are there, my family, my friends…Moving here permanently is…" She stopped herself. How could it be a mistake? She thought of her Uncle Charlie and the dragons, she thought of Jordi, she thought of her Aunt Fleur…Just because you left her home physically, doesn't mean that a part of you doesn't stay, doesn't mean that those family members and memories are all gone. She came here for a fresh start, what would be better than staying here?

A knock jars Lily out of her state of concentration. She was on the very last student test and had just gotten her focus back after that meeting. "Come in," she said, trying to hold back the disdain in her voice. She didn't want another student coming here, bothering her for a grade. When she looked up, she saw the large figure of David in the doorway.

"I know the Headmaster talked to you about next year, and I thought I would talk with you a bit more." He pulled out a chair in front of the desk and looked at her. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No, I was just trying to finish this."

"Well, if you're looking for a job this summer. There's need for tutors in the nearby towns. It's mainly parents wanting a head start for their kids, but it pays decent and it'll be easy for you."

"I was planning on going home for the summer. I just rented out my apartment and it'll be empty come middle of June. By then I'll be done here."

"My cottage has an extra room and I'll be gone for a decent chunk of the time. Rent will be cheaper than your flat and—"

"David. Please, I need to get this done." She shut her eyes, clutching her quill tightly between her fingers.

"You just don't want to talk about it." He leans forward a little further. "Would you be happy if you left, if you started being a Healer again?" His face is one of concern as he searches for answers in her body language.

Lily set the down the test. She was nearly done, mainly she just wanted to go back over it since her concentration was a continuous battle, but she didn't want to talk with this David about this. She wasn't ready to go home, to face everything. By now she should be ready and things she have gotten back to normal, but that wasn't enough reassurance. Something was telling her that Durmstrang was where she belonged for now.

Empty take out counters dotted Albus' normally tidy kitchen. The room was dimly lit, the only light coming from the television set in the living room. All signs of work were neatly tucked away, briefcases and robes hidden in the closet near the front door along with a pile of shoes. It was Wednesday night and getting late, still Scorpius came over to Al's to unwind after a long day of work. This had become a regular occurrence, and it seemed as if things were transpiring between the two of them. Scorpius didn't even know how it happened. He and Albus went from being childhood friends that had grown apart, to work partners, and then to…He didn't want to think about it as they sat on Al's couch watching some muggle movie. There was quite a bit he didn't understand, but Al appeared engrossed in it so he tried to keep his questions to a minimum. The two were sitting closer than was considered normally, hands gently brushing against one another. As much as they tried to distance themselves from each other, it was comfortable to fall into a routine. The discussion about what was to happen next was something they wanted to avoid. Unless one of them wanted to transfer departments there was a major risk analysis involved.

"Score, movie's over." Al touched his arm, causing the other boy to jump slightly. "Didn't mean to frighten you."

"No, you didn't Al…" He yawned, wiping a hand across his face.

"You want to crash here again? You left some work clothes here last time and I threw them in the wash with my stuff."

"Your couch kills my back, even when you transfigure it." His voice was thick with sleep, as he ran a hand through his hair.

"I didn't say anything about a couch." Al's voice lowered a bit and he rubbed the back of his neck. Even in the dim light, it was clear that his cheeks were tinged pink.

"Al, I…We…It's not a good idea." He twists his body until Al isn't touching him, but he's looking him straight in the eye.

"Merlin…" Al leaned forward and rested his hands on his knees, contemplating what to say next. Then, he looked at Score and tilted his head, then said, "To hell with the ministry. We can be responsible and mature. Hell, we can give it a shot and not tell anybody. If things go sour, no harm, no foul."

"But what if they go right?"

"Then we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

"I think what you mean, we'll burn that bridge when we come to it." Score shook his head.

"Smart ass." Al let out a laugh and shoved his shoulder

"I am almost positive my ass is part of the reason you are attracted to me." A slight smile crossed his face as he leaned a bit forward to pat Al's leg. "But we'll be having our first argument if you put my extra uniform robe in that muggle drying contraption of yours."

Al laughed, leaning forward and reaching out to touch his arm. Sometimes things were worth a risk. They'd been friends for ages, seen each other when they didn't want to be seen by anyone else…Hell, he still remembered the first time they had a real conversation. Scorpius had been bent over the sink, trying to clean the blood off of his shirt after some kids punched him. Al thought for sure that Scorpius would hex him, but he still stood his ground and was glad he did.

"Al, I wasn't actually serious."

"I know."

Scorpius smiled a little wider and put an arm around Albus. The pair got up and took their time getting ready for bed, before they both slipped under the covers. Scorpius curled around Albus' back and threw one arm over his waist, allowing their breaths to match one another.


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: I don't know who is actually still reading this, but I promise it is not abandoned! So sorry of the wait, I started college so things have been insane with that and I also did NaNo this November so I have been swamped.**

 **Just another note, this story is going how I intended it to go along. At times it feels like I am forcing it instead of allowing the characters to lead, but I have had an ending in mind since before I started writing Paper Moon. Please don't hate me if it is not what you intended to read.**

* * *

By June, Lily was packing up her things in the staff quarters. David watched, half curious and half confused as she did it the muggle way. She took great care to fold things up and place them in her suitcase. When she started on the rest of her things, the books she head perched on a shelf, she turned to him. "You don't have to stay."

"I said that I would help you move, and I am." He crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned against the wall. "Why do you do it like this? You have magic."

Lily gave him a smile. "That doesn't mean I should always rely on it. I use it, but there's no harm to doing things the muggle way." She shrugged. "Mum uses magic for everything, she leaned it from her mum. Dad was raised muggle, he still does things that way because it's what he knew. Besides, it's good to understand their world, because we live in it too."

She finished the task, closing the boxes of books and trinkets with a sweep of her wand. A smile crossed David's face as he pushed off from the wall. "You sure about this? Moving into the cottage too?"

"After that transfiguration so we could each have our own room? Of course I want to live there. Besides the person in my flat wanted to extend the stay anyway." She shrugged. "I was actually thinking of going home for a short visit. I miss London, I know it's only been a few months, but…"

"I understand. If you didn't know my parents prefer me to see them once a week, but I usually make the trip every two weeks."

"Are you going for some freelance work?" Lily asked, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Yeah, I got an offer."

"Do you want to come with me?" Lily questioned. Her eyes looked at him, all wide and hopeful. She crossed the room, coming close to him, her hand grazing his arm. "It wouldn't be an inconvenience."

"I don't think it would be a good idea," he answered slowly. "I mean…" He stepped away from her. "Showing up at a complete strangers house with their daughter in tow, that's—"

"You're not a stranger, our parents are old friends." She shrugged. "I'm just…" She took a deep breath and ran a hand through her hair. "I don't think I'm really ready to go home just yet and I'd like to have someone there."

"It's your family Lily."

"I know, but…Things haven't been the same in a while and they…Well, I know they think that I just run whenever things get tough and I do, I'm not saying that I don't, but this time…I think I was meant to come to Durmstrang." She looked at him, her eyes were wide and glistening. David held out a hand but she took a step back from him, waving away any attempts. "When I first came here I thought it was a mistake, I hated it so much. It was this cold, unfamiliar place, but it feels so _right_ now. It's hard to explain. I loved St. Mungo's and the people, but I couldn't picture staying there forever."

"Funny how things work out."

"Yeah, we really should get moving."

Lily wondered as David helped her if she was only making the same mistake again. Perhaps she never was meant to stay in London, perhaps she was meant to go elsewhere, but one thing she wanted to be careful of was David. How many times had she tried to make a person into a home before? In hindsight what she had with Scorpius was dangerous, part of her still missed him, but she didn't need him anymore. She never did. Jordi was a disaster waiting to happen and the two would probably never be in the same country for longer than a few days…Michael was the only one who she regretted. Right now she was going to push him from her mind and focus on the present.

* * *

Albus was at Scorpius' house watching as he dug though his closet to get dressed. "Come on…"

"My answer is still no," Scorpius said, turning to face him. "Besides, we can't…" The statement hung in the air as he took a step forward to set a hand on his shoulder. Their relationship had been functioning in secret for a better part of a month. Only when they were alone or in a strange place would they feel safe enough to be open with one another.

"Would you be angry if I put in a transfer?" Albus questioned.

"No, neither of us is going to compromise so we can be together. The last thing I want is resentment—"

"What if it's something I want? There's a job opening in the investigative unit. You're better at field work than I am, so you should be the one to stay."

Scorpius bit back a comment. He would be happy for Al, but at the same time despised the fact that he would be getting another partner. The only person he wanted was Roxie. He tried hard not to think about her, hell he still couldn't say his name without his throat catching. All he wanted was his friend back, but Al made it at least bearable. "You would be good at that."

A small smile crossed Al's lips as the shorter man stepped forward, one hand going to his arm as he leaned in to kiss him. It was short and sweet and felt right. Albus grinned when they pulled apart. "My sister's going to be home and my parents want me there."

"Lily's finally coming home?" Scorpius asked.

"Not permanently," Al replied softly. "She leased out her flat for longer, renewed her contract, and found a place to stay on the school grounds for the summer. I think she may be serious."

"You know she'll run again."

"Score…"

"No, Lily's famous for it. You get to close to her and she bolts. How long is Durmstrang honestly going to last?"

"Just come with me, please."

"I guess, but are you going to spend tonight here?"

Albus didn't respond just gave him a lazy grin and slung an arm around his shoulder, squeezing him.

* * *

A few hours later Scorpius and Albus had arrived separately, one by floo and one by appartation, at the Potter house. Al was first and Scorpius was second, he was well-received by Ginny who greeted him like one of her own children. Harry smiled at him, talked to him a bit, they did see each other frequently at work.

"Lily will be here in a bit, so will James, he's bringing home a girl."

"What?" Al's eyes widened. "James has never brought anyone home."

"Don't jinx it," Ginny said. "Lily mentioned something about a friend coming with her, did she tell you?" She looked at all three of the men in the room, a frown on her face. "The first time she'll be home in months and she wants to bring someone over, I just…" The thought was cut off by a small cracking sound. "Must be James, Lily said she was using a portkey to Diagon Alley and then flooing from there."

"Mum?" James called out and entered through the front door. Swagger was still in his walk, but it was a bit different. Gone was his clothes precariously arranged to be purposely askew. Instead he wore dark jeans with a v-neck t-shirt that clung to his chest. He kept a tight grip on the girl's hand who was behind him. She was a slight thing with dark blonde hair in braid slung over her shoulder and eyes obscured by wide framed glasses. She wore a simple dress that hung loose on her tiny frame. "Al, Score, it's nice to see you. This is Beatrice."

"You can call me Bea," she answered. "James has told me so much about you all."

"Nice to meet you," Harry stepped forward, holding a hand out. Beatrice stepped away from James and shook it. "I wish I could tell you that I've heard a lot about you, but James has seemed to have kept quiet."

"I know," she said softly, tilting her head and looking around. "He didn't want me to bring this up, but it's only fair. James has told me about…I'm not a witch."

Harry rubbed a hand across his face and looked at his son. The damn kid looked sheepish, just like Teddy did when he got caught with Victoire. This, though, was different. "I still wish we heard about you. I could care less if you have magic or not, Merlin knows James needs someone with a good head on their shoulders."

"Hey!" James said, but Beatrice quieted him with one hand on his shoulder. "I didn't mean to spring this on you, but Bea and I…I wanted you to meet her."

"I thought he was a football player originally and got furious at him for lying to me." She curled against his side again and soon everyone went into the kitchen. An early dinner would be soon, but right now they were snacking on cheese with crackers along with various drinks that amused Beatrice. She'd never tried butter beer before and laughed when it made her feel all warm on the inside.

Soon enough they were gathered around in the living room while Harry continued to make dinner. It was staying warm while they waited. It seemed to be ages before the fireplace rumbled and Lily stepped out. She looked the same, ripped black jeans and sleeveless shirt with messy hair. The man behind her towered over her, looking intimidating even in a button down with worn jeans. "Mum!" Lily said as Ginny came over to give her a hug. "The whole family is here…" Her eyes rested on Scorpius, but she didn't say anything just shifted her focus to the girl sitting beside James. "Hi, I'm Lily I don't think we've met before."

"Beatrice." She got up and held out a hand. "You're his sister I'm assuming."

"Yes." She shook the hand and when she released it, she grabbed for David. "This is my friend, David, he teaches at Durmstrang with me."

"Oh, it's lovely to meet you…" Ginny looked at him, tilted her head and then leaned back to meet Harry's eyes who was currently in the kitchen. He came out and took in the scenario.

"Good to meet you as well," he answered. "I'm sorry you look familiar, what was your name again?"

"David Krum, I believe you know my parents."

"Yeah, I didn't know you were teaching."

"Flying," he answered. "I'm actually in town for a few days, I do some freelance work for sports in magazines and newspaper columns. Lily said it would be fine to stay with you…I hope it's not an inconvenience."

"Of course not, the rest of my kids live in town." He looked at his daughter pointedly.

Lily laughed and closed the distance between her and her father giving him a hug. "I missed you too." She hugged him tightly and didn't want to let go, but did anyway. As she pulled away she ran a hand through her hair.

"Dinner's about ready, I'll check on it, catch up and come in a few."

Lily turned and saw her brother sitting on the loveseat, carefully situated next to Scorpius. "David, this is my brother and his friend."

"Nice to meet you." David's smile was tight as his eyes rested on Scorpius. "What was your name again?"

"Scorpius Malfoy," he repeated slowly. "I work with Al, we're aurors."

"Lily told me a bit about that."

The red-head reached for his arm, gripping it tightly as she looked at him with panic in her wide eyes.

"I haven't heard about you, but Lily doesn't talk to me much these days," Scorpius said.

Albus reached for Scorpius the same way Lily reached for David. His eyes looked a bit panicked as well. James, though, watched with a mixture of confusion and curiosity.

"Why don't we eat?" Harry interrupted.

Dinner itself was an awkward affair. Scorpius picked as his food while Albus looked at him with concern. Lily prodded her meal eyes shifting to David every once and a while. Poor Beatrice had no idea what she had gotten herself into as she sat at the table with the Potter family. Finally, once things had settled down some, Lily turned her attention to her.

"Where'd you go to school?" Lily questioned. "You look like your about our age, but I don't remember you from Hogwarts."

"I didn't go," she answered softly.

"Oh, well where did—" Her eyes looked around the table and she gripped her fork tightly. "Seriously, James? After you lectured me for dating Michael you go and do the same exact thing?"

"It's different." He reached to grab her hand and lace their fingers together. "I love Bea."

She dropped her fork and looked at her brother. He'd said those words to family, but she's never heard them uttered to someone else before. No veritisum was needed to see if he was telling the truth. "I see." She bit her lip and looked down at her plate before looking up again. Al was looking straight at Scorpius, head tilted slightly. The two of them were silently communicating. Something was going on.

James and Bea ended up leaving rather early, but Scorpius and Al stayed for quite some time. Score begged off early even though Al was planning on staying for a bit longer. Lily had been upstairs with David, showing him her room when she found a book Albus had asked about earlier that evening. Heading downstairs, Ginny told her to go out to the garden. When she did she caught sight of two figures, of Scorpius and Albus… Scorpius bent ever so slightly to place a kiss on her brother's lips and she was frozen in the spot.

When she first learned that Scorpius was interested in men, she never thought it would come to this. Deep down inside, she had hoped that at some point they would reconcile. It was a stupid thought, the two of them were going in opposite directions and it seemed like their paths would never intersect again. Now, she knew just how right she was.

They both turned toward her, mouths forming her name at the exact same time. Against her better judgement, she stepped forward. "I should be mad, but…" She pursed her lips together, eyes going towards the man she loved, and then flickering in the direction of her brother. She tilted her head and Scorpius reached out to grab her arm. At that moment in time memories flickered through her mind, of Scorpius and Albus together…Then they morphed into the something else…She saw the two of them together a little girl clinging to Albus' side…"We were never meant to have a future." Her voice sounded hollow, eyes wide with a haunted look inside of them.

"Lily we haven't told anyone," Albus tells her. "We can't, not yet unless we want to be shuffled around without any say in the manner. The Ministry is strict about inter departmental dating for Aurors."

"I'm not going to say anything. I promise." She looked at them one last time before turning around and not looking back. Heading upstairs she was going to go to where David was, but she stopped herself. It was high time that she started to become independent. She didn't need anyone. Just like it was time for Scorpius and Albus to admit that they were ready for commitment, it was time for her to admit that she was ready to be on her own.

* * *

Lily was busy gathering her things off of the kitchen table and throwing them in a satchel when she heard a crack of apparition. She looked up through a veil of hair and sighed. She had been living with David most of the summer and tried her best for the pair of them to be amiable roommates. Time and time again she told herself that was all she wanted. "Hey," she replied when he walked through the door, and tossed her bag over her shoulder. "I won't be back until late, but I made some pasta last night, left overs are in the fridge if you want them."

"Lily, wait…" he said. "Where are you going?"

"Does it matter?" she quipped, but when she saw his reaction she softened her face. "I'm getting some things set up in my classroom. School starts in two weeks."

"I live with you and I haven't seen you for more than a few minutes at a time in months."

"We're both busy." She shrugged. "Besides, it's really your house I'm just staying here while the staff quarters are closed inside the castle."

David rubbed the back of his neck and looked her over. "I'd like it if you'd stay. This place is too big for me by myself."

"This place is a roomy shoebox," Lily replied with a snort. "David you are a fantastic person and I like living with you, but I can't do anything more than that. Right now I need to sort myself out before I add someone else into the mix, do you understand?"

David nodded. "Lily I do not want you to feel uncomfortable, but I truly do like having you here. Even if we just stay friends it is nice sharing the space with someone." He gave her a smile. "Thanks for the meal. Will I see you tonight?"

"Most likely, I won't be at the castle late." As she left, she had to admit it was nice to have someone who cared about her. Perhaps in time she could make herself care about him without getting too attached.

* * *

Scorpius' heart was racing as he scanned the perimeter, wand in hand. Him and Albus were on duty, it was one of the last days before Albus' transfer kicked in. They were supposed to go on an ordinary patrol, reports of magic being used in a predominantly muggle area. Usually that meant some punk wizard teens were hanging around and showing off. Unfortunately that was not the case.

"You alright, Score?" Albus questioned coming up beside him.

"Fine," he said, his grey eyes going to meet the green of Al. He gave him a smile, the bright color bringing him comfort. "I already summoned back up. We just need to secure the area and make sure—"

A stream of light headed in their direction, hitting the wall of the building behind them. "Aurors, we order you to stop," Scorpius said in a firm voice, taking a step forward to stand in front of Blaine. The next few seconds passed quickly, a wizard in a dark robe with a hood appeared, drawing a wand. What happens next was not clear, but a spell is shouted, Al moves, twisting his body, a stream of light follows and the next thing Scorpius sees is his partner hitting the ground. "Al!" He dropped to his knees were Albus is sprawled out on the pavement.

"I'm fine go after him…" His voice is strained.

"You're bleeding." He touches his head and his fingers come away sticky with blood. "I am not leaving you."

"Protocol," he urged.

"Backup was already called." Scorpius grabs Albus' hand and laces their fingers together. He wipes his hand on the robe and puts a light hand on his shoulder. "Stay down, we don't know what you hit when you fell or what the curse was."

"I love you," he said with a lazy smile on his face.

"Where did that come from?"

"Just… You being you, Score." He raised his head up a bit and Scorpius leaned down so they met halfway. He did not care they were in public, Al was going to be okay, he told himself as he let them kiss. It was simple, their lips pressed against each other for a good while. Before long Scorpius heard someone clearing their throat.

"The subject has been apprehended." It was Harry, walking forward as he pushed his glasses up his nose. "We will talk about this later. Son, do you feel stable enough to be transported to St. Mungo's for a checkup?"

"Yeah, Scorpius was being cautious."

"I can see that." Harry gave the two boys a narrow look. "We need to discuss this. You did good work calling back-up when you did." Harry kicked at the ground and watched the two men. "I will take care of everyone else, just make sure Al gets taken care of."

"Of course, sir," Scorpius said, looking down where Albus was practically rolling his eyes and getting ready to object.

"You are enjoying this way too much."

"Shh...Let me help you apparate." He squeezed tighter and with a crack they were gone. The two ended up in the urgent care at St. Mungo's within moments Healers descended upon, Scorpius pulled away from Albus and told to head to the waiting room. He did just that, but was not alone for long as soon enough Harry showed up.

"How's Al doing?"

"It hasn't been long enough, I think they have worse cases before him." Scorpius felt his palms get sweaty as he rubbed them off on his robe. "I apologize for the inappropriate behavior between Al and I."  
"You're apologizing for getting caught." Harry's tone was neutral, his eyes centered on the floor. "How long has this been going on?"

"Since the start of the summer…It just sort of all fell into place. We tried staying away from each other and keeping things professional, but… Al wanted to transfer out anyway and I wanted to test the waters before anything drastic happened."

"Merlin…" Harry shook his head. "I am not too keen on being the last to know everything. I always find out something about Al in the worst possible way." He looked at Scorpius. "I know this is a personal question, but as a dad…"

"I like both men and woman," he explained. "When I was with Lily I was attracted to her, but… It may seem peculiar since Al is her brother, but the two are completely different and I've known Al since I was 11. The two of us were friends first."

"Well, I will have a hell of a time finding you another partner."

"Sir, I… Al says I am better at being an Auror than him, but I don't know how true that really is. After today, well not just today…I know that I can't do this forever. Aren't there openings in the Magical Law Enforcement, the division where Hermione works."

Harry just reached over to pat him on the shoulder. "I will see what I can do." He gave him a smile. "For now just keep things on the down low."

"I will, sir, don't worry."

"Sir, Merlin, Score you make me feel old." He shook the shoulder a little bit. "I have known you since you were a kid, I think you can call me Harry about now." The man got to his feet. "I am going to go handle things, but see to it Al gets home safe. Ginny and I will drop by his flat later, if he can't leave the hospital for whatever reason come back to the office to let me know. Alright?"

"Of course, s—Harry," Scorpius finished trying to manage a smile. As soon as he left the worry washed over him. Al would be alright, he was coherent when they brought him in and none of the Healers seemed too concerned. He picked up an issue of a wizarding magazines. He hadn't seen one in ages, thankfully. Usually his mother clipped out articles or sent the entire magazine whenever they published an article about him. It was always accompanied by an enraged note. With a sigh he pushed it away, the two bit articles not able to capture his attention. He leaned forward on his knees and clasped his hands together. It was hard to keep his cool, his heart started racing and his palms sweating as scenarios played through his head. The last time he was here, it was for him, but his mind kept on flying back to the day they brought Roxie.

"Mr. Malfoy, are you alright?" One of the Healers stepped forward, he had seen her before on countless occasions. It was not a surprise, aurors were known as frequent flyers in St. Mungo's.

"Perfectly fine," he questioned. "Do you know the condition of Albus Potter?"

"A healer is just finishing up with him, you can come in shortly."  
"He's alright?"

"He has a concussion and required a few stitches, but the curse was just one that sent him flying back, there was no more damage than a hard shove." The woman gave him a smile. He had seen her working with Lily before. Lily never came out and talked with patients, she was not very good comforting people whose loved ones were injured.

"Thank Merlin." He tilted his head and rubbed his palms together. "I thought for sure…" Suddenly his voice seemed to choke up, he did not want to cry not over something like this. "I lost my first partner and if something happened to Al…"

"Let's take you back, the healer in there should be just about done." She patted his shoulder as he got to his feet.

Scorpius towered over the rather petite woman, but she seemed much more confident than he did. Soon he found himself in front of an area partitioned off by curtains. A man was finishing up with Al, giving him a vial of some sort of potion. When he looked up he saw Scorpius. "You're the partner?"

"Yes, I got direct orders from my boss to escort him back to his flat."

"I will be fine, Score," Albus objected.

"Always best to ere on the side of caution, Mr. Potter." He turned to Scorpius. "See to it he doesn't fall asleep, if the pain gets bad he can take one sip of the potion as needed, but no more than five in a day, alright?"

"Of course." As Scorpius helped Albus up and pretended to play the role of a concerned co-worker fussing over a man that was clearly capable. They did it well until they got through the door of the flat. In split second Scorpius' face changed.

"Score?" Al asked. "Are you actually going to tell me what is wrong?"

He embraced him, hugging him as tight as he dared. "Merlin, Al…I…I was just terrified that you would be gone too." He looked him straight in the eye.

"Score… Scorpius…" Albus pushed away. "You really were scared."

"If I lost you…"

It was in that moment something clicked between the two of them. All the secrets, hidden affections, lying…it was all worth it. Soon enough, though, they would have to bring it fully to the surface, because it seemed like this was not going anywhere.


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: Hey, I don't know how many people are still reading (I can see the hit count, but I don't know how many of you are actually reading the entire chapter). Please drop me review, the anonymous ones are turned on.**

* * *

"Thank you." Lily said as she stepped up to the counter. "For coming, even though it just meant sitting in the waiting room for a few hours."

"I got work done." David shrugged and put an arm around her shoulder. "Are you doing okay?" He looked down at the bandaged arm.

"Handled it like a pro," the tattoo artist said as he stepped forward. "Thanks for drumming up business for us, David." The man smiled as Lily handed him the agreed money from the agreed upon price. "If you want a new piece…"

"I know." David smiled.

"Thanks again," Lily told him. She stayed under David's arm as they walked over to a corner of the shop. "Are you apparating us home?"

"Yes," he said and pulled Lily a bit closer, minding her arm as a crack filled their ears. In a matter of seconds the two of them were on the front doorstep of the cottage. "I am excited to see that piece," David said.

"You just have to wait." Lily looked down at the bandage. A tattoo had not crossed her mind before, some of her cousins had them; Teddy had a gorgeous piece on his back. She felt like she should have told her parents, but it was her body and she was an adult. Truth be told it was David that got her thinking about it. The first time she saw him in a short sleeve shirt, the edges of the tattoo peaked out. It was a silhouette of mountains on his upper arm, _my home,_ he told her. On his shoulder blade there was an old fashioned sailing boat, and the deathly hallows symbol on the inside of his forearms. The symbol had a story behind it, from his Durmstrang and Quidditch days.

"Good thing the robes we wear for school are so loose otherwise the students would have many questions," David said. "Are you hungry? Do you want me to make something or do you want to go to the hall? We should be able to make it in time for dinner."

"I can cook," Lily said. "Besides I don't know if I trust your concoctions." She rolled her eyes.

"You have cooked the last two times, besides how hard can pasta be?"

Lily sat down in the chair and watched as he tried to prepare anything, reaching for her wand and getting ready to intervene as per usual. This seemed to be an everyday occurrence. Since she talked with David in the summer things between them had gotten better. It seemed, though, they were both walking on egg shells as far as taking things further. David would put an arm around her shoulder, Lily would grab his hand when they apparated together, and they both would fall asleep on each other while either grading papers (David helped when a translator was needed) or reading.

"Lily, I have been meaning to ask, what are your plans for Christmas break?"

"I was thinking about staying here," she said. Going home to her family used to be mandatory in her mind and as much as she wanted to go, something was telling her to stay away.

"Oh."

"What?"

"Nothing, my parents are going to America to visit my mother's family, I will be celebrating with them early. The travel to get to and back is horrendous and I have work to do soon after."

"I was not set about staying here. Why don't I ask my parents if you can come as well?"

"If you truly wish to stay here, then I do not want to force you or inconvenience your parents."

"My parents thrive in chaos." She got to her feet when she saw more steaming than normal. Standing right next to him she murmured a few words to keep the pot of water from boiling over. He pressed a hand on the small of her back. "And I would like you there."

Before either of them could process what was happening they got closer until their mouths met, pressed closely against one another. Lily reached up place one hand on the back of his head, he curled an arm around her side. One they pulled away David looked at Lily trying to gauge her reaction.

"I apol—"

"I wanted it," she interrupted. "Merlin, did I do something wrong? I thought…"

"No." He smiled. "I was just… You said that…"

"We can take things slow." She took a step back. "I can set the table, alright?"

"Yes, of course." A lazy smile crossed his face as a grin crossed Lily's. _David is safe,_ she told herself. He was a wizard with a practical career. This was going to be alright.

* * *

Lily fussed with the dress she wore. David had never actually seen her in one, she usually preferred ripped jeans or flannels. It was a sweater dress with short sleeves and a cowl neck, dark green in color. It complimented the deep red of her hair along with her warm brown eyes. "Is this alright?"

"You don't have to dress up for them." He stepped over as she saw her pack her overnight bag. Lily just frowned at him, taking in his outfit. He wore a faded flannel shirt that was soft to the touch. She wanted to curl up against him whenever he wore it.

"I just want to make a good impression. I met your father before when I went with my mother when she was covering a Quidditch game, but I haven't seen you mum."

"Trust me." David patted her shoulder. "Do you have everything? The portkey will be taking off soon enough."

"Yeah, how about you?"

"Good… listen do you mind if we sleep in the same room? My parents turned one of the guest bedrooms into an office so it isn't really usable unless we transfigure some furniture." David looked downright sheepish as he asked.

"David, I am 24 years old. I think I can handle sharing a bedroom with my boyfriend."

Lily didn't say that she welcomed it. They hadn't done much past snogging on the couch occasionally. It took her back to dating Scorpius, but they both seemed on the same page. Unlike with Jordi, she was never in a rush to get with him, she liked enjoying his company. The two said they would move slow and they did just that.

"Just remember to bundle up, it'll be cold."

Under his watchful eye she slid on a pair of fleece lined tights and slipped on a pair of boots before wrapping her uniform clock around her body. He did the same thing, slipping a hat on as well after twining a scarf around his neck.

"Come on." He grabbed her hand and tugged her outside to where an old boot sat. They both placed a hand on it and in an instant they were off. A few moments later they were touching down on the ground, Lily stumbling forward a bit to be caught by David. "Just down the hill, our house is kind of secluded," he explained.

When Lily had regained her balance a smile crossed her face as she inhaled the clean mountain air. "Like your tattoo." She pointed, then began to trace the landscape in the air. "It's beautiful here." She closed her eyes as the breeze whipped around her.

"It is also freezing out here. Come on." He laced his hand in hers and they went down the hill to the small house that rested at the base of it. From the window Lily could see a fireplace. David let them in and kicked off his shoes at the door, Lily followed suit. "Mum, dad," he called out.

In no time a petite a woman with brown hair and blue eyes appeared, standing on her tip toes to give her son a hug. "I am so glad you came home. It's good to see you."

Lily noticed that her accent was clearly American. After all this time living in Bulgaria she had not picked up on it. "Nice to meet you, ma'am."

"Call me Julie," she said and stepped forward to wrap Lily in a hug. "Your Lily, David has told us so much about you. It is good to finally put a name to a face."

"Thank you for having me."

"Of course, let me take your cloak." She waited as Lily wiggled out and then took David's before levitating them to a coat rack with hooks enchanted to be like grabby hands. "Viktor is around here somewhere…" She looked around. "David go find your father." She gestured in some vague direction that her son seemed to understand. "Come to the kitchen with me."

Julie looked at Lily before setting off towards the kitchen. The younger woman watched as she began to take out stemmed wine glasses and place them beside a bottle of wine. "Do you want a glass?"

"That sounds lovely," Lily responded. "What's for dinner?"

"Traditional Bulgarian food," she informed her. "David probably hasn't had it in a while and I don't mind making it if Viktor helps me. So it'll be Moussaka and this salad I have never been able to pronounce the name of."

"You don't speak Bulgarian?"

"A few words, enough to get by." She shrugged. "I took German in high school, do you know what that is? I know you're British."

"Just the last few years, right?"

"Last four." She smiled as she pulled out her wand to tap on the wine cork in order to remove. "Viktor speaks English fairly well so we can bridge the language barrier fairly easily."

"David offered to help me speak German, translation spells come in handy but I can't rely on them on a daily basis." Lily grabbed the four wine glasses and followed Julie as she moved forward into the dining room.

"You know, you are quite different from the girls he usually brings home."

"How so?"

"It's hard to pinpoint." She floats the bottle of wine to begin pouring into each glass. "Don't take this the wrong way but you are very British. Also, you don't seem to be entranced by my husband's career."

Lily just nodded. Her whole life she had gotten used to people fawning over either her mum or her dad. To her they were just people, amazing people that she cared about deeply, but people nonetheless. When David and his father came in, it was clear to see where the similarities lie. If they were the same age they would have appeared to be twins, accept David had his mother's personality with an easy smile and none of the intense seriousness that his father possessed.

"Dad, this is Lily." David held out his hand to pull her close, but then settled one hand on her shoulder.

"Nice to meet you, sir." She thought briefly about giving him a hug, but instead settled for a hand shake.

"Call me Mr. Krum."

Julia had stepped close to him and elbowed him gently in the side.

"I mean Viktor that will be fine." He forced a smile. "We are glad to have you in our home." He goes towards the table and the rest of them follow suit.

Dinner passes with pleasant conversation and delicious foods. The main dish is layers of meat and potatoes with a savory sauce accompanied by a salad made of cucumbers, tomatoes, and a salty white cheese. The wine chosen complements it well and Lily has an additional half glass against her better judgement.

Still, she was content when the end of the night came. David took a shower while Lily got undressed and put on pajamas. He had a smile for her when he slid in beside her. It was clear it was a childhood room what with the bookshelf containing texts that had a progression of reading levels along. That paired with a various Quidditch posters and a box full of discarded toys/sports equipment.

"You really don't mind?" David asked as he got into bed.

"No." She got closer to him as he settled in. "I like it." Inching closer she placed a kiss on his lips. It didn't go much passed that as they laid there. David fell asleep first and Lily admitted it was uncomfortable. He liked to sprawl out on the bed on his stomach so she curled her body into a c- shape place the hand on top of her waist. They didn't quite fit together but that was alright, she would make it work.

* * *

"Lily is actually coming?" James questioned as he helped his dad in the kitchen. Beatrice had not gotten off work yet, and neither had Ginny. It was supposed to be a family dinner, done in honor of the fact that Lily was actually coming home. They had not seen her since the few days during the middle of the summer. "Is she coming alone of bringing someone again?"

"David will be accompanying her, if that's what you're asking."

"Six months, that's a long time. Since Score she usually tosses them to the side after a few months."

"James Sirius," Harry said. "Respect your sister."

"Dad, we have hardly seen Lily since she started working at Durmstrang. Do you get letters? I certainly don't. Then when we actually get to see her she brings some strange guy in tow."

Harry sighed and began to massage his temples. "Can you listen to what you are saying?" He shook his head. "I would give anything to have a time turner to record this and make your ten year old self listen to it, when you made your sister cry over Quidditch games."

"I am never going to live that down, am I?"

"Certainly not. Besides, James a year ago Lily could have said the exact same thing about you. She hardly saw you accept when you showed up drunk off your arse at her doorstep."

"Lily told you about that?"

"No she told Albus and Albus told me, because he is the only one out of you three I can get a straight answer from." Harry shook his head. "Listen, just be civil and remember that any complaint you have about Lily can be turned back on you."  
"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Lily dating that muggle police officer did not make me happy because she hid it from us as long as she could. Then you go and lecture her on it before dating a muggle yourself."

"Because I realized I had my head up my arse. Bea is the best thing that ever happened to me." He shot his dad a lazy smile. "I want to ask her to marry me, thought I would do it on Christmas. It is her favorite holiday."  
"Have you ever met her family?"

"In a few days I will."

Harry slid an arm around his son, patting his shoulder. "Good for you. It seems like my boys are getting ready to get married."

"What?" James' eyes widened. "Albus and Score…"

"I did not say a word." Harry stepped away from his son and gave him a smile.

Nearly an hour later everyone was in the Potter house accept for Lily. Beatrice was in the kitchen unwrapping what looked to be a plate of Christmas cookies. Albus and Scorpius were setting the table by hand, talking in hushed tones. When they were about ready to give up waiting on Lily, the fireplace began to crackle. Out stepped Lily with a large bag in her hand, shortly following her was David, a smaller bag in his hand.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," she said.

"It's fine, I'll put away your bags." Ginny pulled out her wand and began to levitate both Lily and David's bags. "You'll be staying in Albus' room. James' room is still unfit for guests even after he moved out years ago."

"Thank you, ma'am," he said, stepping to place a hand on Lily's shoulder. "And thank you for letting me come over again."

"Not a problem, us Weasley's have a way of adopting people into our family." Ginny issued a wink in Harry's direction. "Come in, come in."

They sat around the table, getting settled down as dishes of food were leviatated in. Small talk commenced, nothing more than asking how they had been doing, hearing about jobs. Things took a turn, though, when Lily asked for Albus to pass the potatoes. When she reached for the bowl across the table, Scorpius got a good look at her forearm. The next thing she heard was the clatter of metal against china.

"Are you alright?" Ginny questioned.

Scorpius wiped his mouth on a napkin before looking pointedly at Lily. "What is that?"

Lily set the potatoes down and curled her arm against her body. "A tattoo haven't you seen one before?"

"Since when do you feel the need to permanently mark yourself?" he questioned.

"I don't have to justify myself to you." Lily reached for her fork and gripped it tightly in her hand.

"I think it is quite tasteful," Harry said. "May I see it again?"

"It's a compass rose and the coordinates for London," she explained, twisting her arm to show her father. "After I saw David's tattoo I thought it was beautiful to have something to remind me of home."

Scorpius visibly tensed and took in David as he sat in front of him. David who looked so clean cut with a pair of chino's with a cable knit sweater. Everything he had was easily hidden underneath long sleeves.

"Mine's on my shoulder, wraps around it in a band. It's the silhouette of the mountains you can see from my home in Bulgaria." David looked back down at his plate, the table had settled into near silence. "So, Albus, Lily told me that the both of you transferred out of the auror department."

"Yes, I work in the investigative unit now," Albus explained. "Score's working as a paralegal in the Court divisions of Magical Law Enforcement."

"The both of you transferred out?" David lifted a glass of water to his lips.

"There is a strict inter departmental dating policy for aurors." He looked to Scorpius and patted his hand. "It was our only choice."

David about spit out his water. "Wait, you are Scorpius Malfoy?" He pointed to the man beside Al. "The one that Lily dated for three years?" He turned to her. "You didn't tell me this."

"I thought it was still a secret." She held up her hands.

"Dad caught us again." Al's cheeks were tinged pink. "He has impeccable timing."

"Again?" David leaned back in his chair. "You dated Scorpius after he had been caught with your brother before?"

"There is such thing about being bisexual," Scorpius snapped.

Further down the table Harry looked mortified; Ginny looked as if she was ready to jump in at any moment; James was suppressing laughter; Beatrice had spit out her water; and Albus had his hand resting on his boyfriend's arm.

"I misspoke, when I was younger my dad caught me with my boyfriend," Albus explained.

Before anyone else can speak, Ginny gets to her feet and declares it is time for dessert. She recruits half the people at the table to help and begins to levitate away dishes. The rest of dinner is maintained with forced civility, Lily certainly hopes that David can survive the actual Christmas day festivities.

After James and Bea leave—they both have work at a ridiculously early hour the next day—Albus is reigned into Christmas decorating and David is pulled away by Harry to discuss some things. Lily goes to the kitchen to help with the cleanup, beginning to do the dishes by hand to clear her mind. As she scrubs away she senses someone's presence. "I do not feel like talking with you," she snaps before letting go of the dish and causing it to clatter in the sink. "Scorpius, please."

"Lily, I come in peace." He holds up his hands in surrender mode. "Truthfully, it may not be my place but I am worried about you."

"You are right it isn't your place." She picks the dish up again and begins to furiously scrub. "We are over. you have no say in my life, alright? You may be shagging my brother and as much as I have tried to be accepting it is still hard to wrap my mind around it."

"You better get used to it," he said.

"You proposed to Al?" She dropped the dish again and whipped around. "Seriously?"

"He proposed to me."

"Congratulations," she forced the words out but did not mean them. As much as she wanted to be happy for her brother, as much as snippets of visions assured her that they belonged together and Scorpius was not in her future, it still stung.

"Lily I know you want—"

"Do not finish that sentence," she ordered.

"Fine. But tell me this, is David actually the man for you? Do you picture a white picket fence future with him? Because it seems to me that—"

"You are judging him Scorpius." Her voice had an edge to it that she disguised with a sing song way of speaking. "I seem to remember someone's mother doing the same thing and them being annoyed by it."

"The scenario is completely different. I am still your friend and when I see him…" Scorpius looked at her, Lily had turned her body and braced her hands against the sink. He came to stand beside her. "You deserve better."

"Leave me alone," she hissed. "Have a nice life shagging my brother, but I don't want you to be a part of it."

"That's a big surprise, you have someone that cares about you and you just throw them away. Isn't that what happened with that muggle—"

"What the hell happened to you?" she asked. "And don't talk about Michael like that." She felt the tears sting the back of her eyes. After all this time, she still wondered what had happened to him, still felt regret over how she had ended things. Fear and anger and losing Roxie…all of it melded into one and he was the target of it all.

"Lily, I apologize, I…" He went to touch her, but then realized how bad of an idea that was. "I care about you and something seems wrong with David."

"Because as much as we want to admit we still can't stand the thought of seeing each other with different people."

"It just shocked me. Hearing that you teach at Durmstrang and have a tattoo and are dating this man…"

"He is a good man," she told him pointedly. So very much like Scorpius and so very much different. Or rather they had one similarity, they both played Quidditch. David was sweet always with a smile on his face, he towered over Lily not only in height, but in size as well. Scorpius was intelligent and quick witted, David was smart too, but in his own right. He tended to speak slower as he was constantly translating things back and forth in his mind. When he spoke it was with great care. Unlike Scorpius, you would never be for certain that David was a pure blood with how he acted.

"Lily?" David's voice called out before he entered the room. Harry was close behind him and the two of them looked concerned. "See I told you it was nothing." David had a smile on his face, but a worried look.

"The two of us were discussing a few things, I better find Albus we both have work tomorrow."

Harry stepped forward to say something to his daughter, but David moved quicker. He placed a hand on her back and began to whisper a few words in German. Lily laughed and leaned into him. She did not even notice her father leaving.

"Are you sure you are alright? You looked upset."

"It's just hard being around Scorpius." A hand went up to touch his face, cupping his chin and looking at him with a smile. The thing was, David did not make her instantly feel better, he distracted her for a bit, but she did not need him or even want him very badly, she just enjoyed his company. It was better that way.

* * *

The Weasley Christmas was always an adventure. This year the Potter children were the topic of conversation being passed around. Albus' engagement to Scorpius, James new girlfriend whose family he was visiting first, and of course Lily. Lily's 'antics' as most of the cousins referred to them, had always been a popular topic of idle gossip.

"Is that him?" Rose questioned as she stood next to Dom. Her eyes were fixed on the tall man with broad shoulders next to her. "Where on earth did Lily meet him?"

"Durmstrang," Dom said, crossing her arms over her chest and lifting her chin. "I am surprised you haven't heard Uncle Ron ranting about him."

"Why would my father be ranting about Lily's boyfriend?" Rose inquired. "He seems like he'd be rather dull if he didn't look like _that_."

"He is the son of Viktor Krum." Dom gave her a wicked grin as she watched her cousin's eyes widen. "I'm going to say hello, you can gawk from the corner." She flipped her hair behind her as she walked forward. "Lily, how nice to see you." She hugged her cousin tightly.

"Dom, you look lovely." Lily pulled away and then reached for the arm of the man next to her. "This is David, David this is my cousin, Dom."

"Nice to meet you." He held out a hand, but found himself in a one armed hug instead.

"Weasley's tend to hug," she explained. Then her eyes looked at her cousin and widened at the side of her arm. "That is gorgeous Lily." She took her cousin's hand. "I was thinking of getting one for…" She shrugged.

"Dom, if you want someone to go with you." Lily pulled her cousin into her arms again. "I should come home more often, shouldn't I?"

"Yes." Dom laughed. "Watch out for Rose, as per usual."

"Wouldn't have it any other way." Lily then curled into David, letting a large arm wrap around her. "Wasn't that easy?"

"Lily, don't toy with me. Does easy have a different meaning here?"

"Funny." She rolled her eyes.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Go right ahead." Lily gestured to the couch and lead him to sit down at one.

"Who was your cousin talking about when she saw your tattoo?"

Lily clenched her fist and took a deep breath, doing what she could to ground herself. Memories flew back to her all to easily, and not all of them good. "Dom's best friend was our cousin, Roxie. Roxie was an auror, Scorpius' partner…She was shot in the line of duty."

"You told me about her."

"It happened less than a year ago and this is our first Christmas without her." Lily sighed.

David did not say a word, but reached to pull her under his arm. His body was strong and rigid. It was as if his shoulders could take the weight of the world, or at the very least her world. "Should we meet the rest of your family?"

"I suppose, but steer clear from Scorpius."

"You never told me exactly what happened last night."

Lily shook her head as she wiggled out from underneath. "It was a long story… I promise to tell you later, right now we have to make nice with everyone."

And make nice they did, or rather David did. He was popular with the family and charmed Grandma Weasley while enchanting Victoire and making Teddy happy by giving him a reprise from Stella. She had grown quite a bit and was more than content to sit on his lap beside her Aunt Lily. The thing that made her smile, though, was that as she sat beside him it was easy for her to picture a future.

* * *

 _7 Months Later, June_

Scorpius stood still as his mother adjusted her tie. Astoria Malfoy may not have approved of her marrying Albus Potter, but that did not mean she would allow him to look like anything less than his best when they recited the vows. "Are you nervous?" she questioned.

"A little." He rocked on his heels as he thought of Albus in the room over. The wedding was far from traditional, they were just going to be married in the Ministry office with their close family as witnesses before having a dinner party. His mother wouldn't let that happen so the two were going to enter from the sides. "But then I remember its Al." He shrugged. "There isn't a whole lot to be nervous about, he's my best friend."

There was quite a bit to be nervous about. In the past few months their faces had been splashed across several covers with sensationalized articles. They took it in stride and let it not get to them either the praise or the criticisms. Two months ago the two of them moved in together into a place that was not an apartment. Granted it was tiny one bedroom house with a small loft. The area was full of muggles and wizard integrationists. Of course the press had a field day at that and they were painted as some sort extreme left liberals, but that was a conversation for a different day.

"Scorpius… Albus Potter may not be my first choice for you to marry. I may wish that you were taking a wife instead of a husband…" She took a deep breath. "But you are happy, the both of you are and the two of you respect each other and have a healthy relationship. That is all a mother should ask for."

"Yeah…" Al's speaking habits had gotten to him and now he was noticeably less precise when he spoke. This would be fine but it irritated Hermione to no end now that he worked with her.

"I'm heading out now, I was just checking in on you to make sure that you were doing alright."

He waited for a few minutes, waiting for his time to come. Ginny came by and gave him a thumbs up before heading to her own seat. Exiting the room he walked towards where the ceremony was and official opened the door with a flick of his wrist. Across the way he saw Albus coming towards him, looking carefully put together in his vest, button up and slacks. Scorpius felt overdressed in his blazer, but he was used to that by now.

"Hey, relax." Al placed on hand on the taller man's shoulder as the stood in front of the official. "I got you."

"I know." Scorpius stood closer and reached to touch him as well, his hand resting on the middle of his back. The rest of the ceremony flashed before his eyes. The vows he agreed with, memorized the words, but he couldn't tell you what exactly happened. When it was announced they were supposed to kiss, they paused for a moment, but when he looked into Al's eyes everything was fine. He leaned down and Al stretched a bit, their arms going around each other and a kissed. Everything in that moment made sense. Al was safe. When he kissed he wasn't pushing harder than Scorpius, they had the same amount of pressure. It wasn't like Lily, free falling and terrifying or Steve were it was much too tentative or worse yet, Ophelia with her sticky sweet lip gloss.

For the first time in his life Scorpius understood the appeal of a family and a 9 to 5 job…When they clasped hands and he saw the wedding band on his finger he was ready for all that. He was ready to do it with Al.


	16. Chapter 16

**AN: There will be more, I promise. I just hope that all the Scorlily lovers out there don't absolutely hate me.**

* * *

 _7 Months Later, June_

Scorpius stood still as his mother adjusted her tie. Astoria Malfoy may not have approved of her marrying Albus Potter, but that did not mean she would allow him to look like anything less than his best when they recited the vows. "Are you nervous?" she questioned.

"A little." He rocked on his heels as he thought of Albus in the room over. The wedding was far from traditional, they were just going to be married in the Ministry office with their close family as witnesses before having a dinner party. His mother wouldn't let that happen so the two were going to enter from the sides. "But then I remember its Al." He shrugged. "There isn't a whole lot to be nervous about, he's my best friend."

There was quite a bit to be nervous about. In the past few months their faces had been splashed across several covers with sensationalized articles. They took it in stride and let it not get to them either the praise or the criticisms. Two months ago the two of them moved in together into a place that was not an apartment. Granted it was tiny one bedroom house with a small loft. The area was full of muggles and wizard integrationists. Of course the press had a field day at that and they were painted as some sort extreme left liberals, but that was a conversation for a different day.

"Scorpius… Albus Potter may not be my first choice for you to marry. I may wish that you were taking a wife instead of a husband…" She took a deep breath. "But you are happy, the both of you are and the two of you respect each other and have a healthy relationship. That is all a mother should ask for."

"Yeah…" Al's speaking habits had gotten to him and now he was noticeably less precise when he spoke. This would be fine but it irritated Hermione to no end now that he worked with her.

"I'm heading out now, I was just checking in on you to make sure that you were doing alright."

He waited for a few minutes, waiting for his time to come. Ginny came by and gave him a thumbs up before heading to her own seat. Exiting the room he walked towards where the ceremony was and official opened the door with a flick of his wrist. Across the way he saw Albus coming towards him, looking carefully put together in his vest, button up and slacks. Scorpius felt overdressed in his blazer, but he was used to that by now.

"Hey, relax." Al placed on hand on the taller man's shoulder as the stood in front of the official. "I got you."

"I know." Scorpius stood closer and reached to touch him as well, his hand resting on the middle of his back. The rest of the ceremony flashed before his eyes. The vows he agreed with, memorized the words, but he couldn't tell you what exactly happened. When it was announced they were supposed to kiss, they paused for a moment, but when he looked into Al's eyes everything was fine. He leaned down and Al stretched a bit, their arms going around each other and a kissed. Everything in that moment made sense. Al was safe. When he kissed he wasn't pushing harder than Scorpius, they had the same amount of pressure. It wasn't like Lily, free falling and terrifying or Steve were it was much too tentative or worse yet, Ophelia with her sticky sweet lip gloss.

For the first time in his life Scorpius understood the appeal of a family and a 9 to 5 job…When they clasped hands and he saw the wedding band on his finger he was ready for all that. He was ready to do it with Al.

* * *

 _July_

Lily was squeezing lemon over a summer vegetable dish simmering on the stove. David came up behind her, his arms on either side of her as he a handful of crushed basil into the pan. "Looks amazing." He kissed where her neck met her shoulder and then let his arms wrap around her midsection.

"As much as I like this, it's kind of hard to stir with you around me."

He gave her another kiss before walking towards the cabinets to set the table the muggle way. "Do you want wine?" He was already reaching for the half-finished bottle of white wine from earlier in the week.

"Sure." After that there was a bit more shuffling and few more wand waves before things were all put into place. Lily sat down next him with a smile on her face.

"How are things going? The tutoring is easier this summer, right?"

"Yes, it's mainly just students that live nearby wanting a head start on next year along with one that is trying to graduate a year early."

David pushed a piece of zucchini around the plate. "I wanted to talk with you about something."

"What is it?"

"I got offered a coaching position in Germany. The team is fairly new and the head coach will be retiring in a few years, they wanted someone that would be willing to take his place after that."

"Oh," Lily said. "That's great, you're taking it, right?"

"I wanted your opinion on it."

"David, it's the job you wanted since you got injured playing Quidditch. I mean Germany isn't the ideal place, but it'll get your name out there, give you experience." She reached over to pat his hand. "What's wrong?"

"What about us?"

"David…" She looked at him, the emotion written on her face transported her back to those talks with Scorpius. "Don't take me into consideration, do what feels right for you."

"But I want to Lily. We've been dating for nine months, living together for more than a year."

"We can make it work, okay? I'll be here and can visit you on the weekends I don't have shifts in the castle or even swing it to come over after my classes if I don't have any the next day. Okay?"

David looked down at the table and then took Lily's hand into his. "I know this is still new, but I don't want to make it end before it's supposed to. I want to give the two of us a chance."

Lily looked at him and suddenly the walls felt like they were closing in on her. The last thing she wanted was for someone to make allowances for her again. She never tailored her path to fit someone else's and she never expected someone to do that for her. That last person that did that was Scorpius. She was still convinced that him being a Quidditch player had more to do with her apprehension about him becoming an auror than anything else. She hadn't had many relationships, the one with Michael was a disaster she was ashamed of. Still, the best relationship had been with Jordi. It hadn't lasted very long and wasn't really anything more than a good friendship with sex thrown in the mix, but they had ended on amiable terms when he left for Romania. She would try with David, but if it wasn't going to work out, it wasn't going to work. Right now she wasn't ready to run from Durmstrang.

"Lily?" David pulls his hand away slowly as if he is scared she will turn on him. "Are you alright?"

"I just need some air." She gets up from the table, the chair squeaking against the floor as she rushes out and heads in the direction of the woods, her back facing the school. Never before has she tried to force a vision to come, but now she wants one more than anything. Stopping once in the trees she takes a deep breath and holds herself in her arms. She can feel the light breeze rippling through the trees and playing with hair as she stands there. The grass is cool and soft under feet. All of these things ground her as she tries to open her mind.

 _"_ _What's her name?" It's Scorpius as he looks at Al. In his arms is a little girl with wide eyes clutching tightly to her brother's shirt._

 _"_ _Matilda," Albus says. "Meet your papa…"_

That image Lily tries to push from her mind as she searches for another one. The next thing she know a wave of pain washes through her body. She sees a dark robe and flash of badge, but not much that she can actually make out. As she reaches further out, opens up her mind even more, she finds something that makes the pain go away and instead it replaced by a tight feeling in her chest.

 _A ring rests in Lily's palm as she looks down at and then up at David. He's dressed in a red shirt with two black bands around the arms and words she doesn't recognize printed in gold on his chest. "Please accept this." He takes her hands and closes them before wrapping his own around them._

 _"_ _David..." She takes him in. "I…I want to, but do we_ need _to?"_

 _"_ _If we trust each—"_

"Lily!"  
The voice tears the vision away and she is angry at herself for not having better control. She turns around and sees David walking towards her. "What do you want?"  
"You've been gone for nearly an hour. I was beginning to think you left."

Walking toward him, she embraces him, taking him in her arms. He makes her feel so small when he wraps his around her. "I'd never leave you." The words don't feel like a lie when they come out of her mouth. They fall out too easily. When she pulls away and sees him she realizes something. For the first time in a while she doesn't feel like bolting. She could love David, in fact she might already.


	17. Chapter 17

**Part Two, Two Years Later**

They had been married for two years and three days when Scorpius found himself sitting at their dining room table, worried out of his mind. Candle wax dripped onto the table top as a warming spell kept the dinner from getting cold. Albus was away on Ministry business so they had to celebrate their anniversary later this year. It was fine for Scorpius, gave him an opportunity to do something instead of Albus. He was always doing the cheesy couple stuff, especially since Scorpius went back to school for law while maintaining his full time job.

He was about ready to owl Harry to see if something went awry when there was the familiar apparition pop. Practically jumping to his feet he made his way to the front door and swung it open in time to see his husband. "Merlin, I was worried sick." Before Albus even made it through the doorway Scorpius wrapped his arms around him, pressing a kiss to the side of his face. "Sorry, come on in, are you hungry?" he questions, taking the bag from his hand. It's heavier because of the expansion spell, but not overly so. Albus shrugs out of his cloak and Scorpius levitates it to the coat rack. He's still dressed in his auror uniform, badge hanging around his neck, tie on but loosened slightly and in a muggle style suit. He looks so tired. So Scorpius leans in to give him a kiss as he goes to take off the suit jacket. Al's never comfortable in the damn things.

"Not now, I'm too tired for that," Al mumbles.

"If I wanted sex I would have went for this." He hooks his thumbs in the belt loop. "Why don't you take a hot shower and we can have dinner on the couch." Scorpius runs a hand through his messy hair. "Are you alright?"

"I need to talk with you, babe." Al looks at him with his wide, green eyes.

"With all due respect, I refuse to talk to you until you get some sleep."

"Can we compromise? I shower, you meet me in bed, and we talk?" Al looks at him.

"Like we get much talking done in bed."

Scorpius reaches done to pat his ass before shoving him away. Not much longer he hears the shower going and takes to putting everything away. He admits he's lazy and uses magic, but Al isn't watching. Albus likes doing things the muggle way, he's like his dad that way. If Scorpius is under his watchful eye he will do it, but now he wants to get it done as fast as possible.

When he gets into the bedroom he takes off his pants. He wore them on purpose because Albus has told him on multiple occasions that his butt looks the best in them. He unbuttons the shirt and then gets on the bed with one of his textbooks in just his underwear and t-shirt.

He hears the door to the bathroom open some time later and Albus appears dressed a lot like Scorpius, but a pair of loose pajama pants. Actually, he's wearing one of Scorpius' shirts, one of those infernal Thestral's t-shirt that he was never allowed to get rid of.

Without a single word Albus gets on the bed and tucks himself underneath his husbands arm. He takes the book and drops it onto the ground. "Missed you," he says as and he pushes back, his arms stretched out in front of him as he curves himself against Scorpius.

Scorpius knows that Albus is taking advantage of the fact he is being tactile right now. They never have public displays of affection that go further than the occasional hand holding or the chaste peck on the lips or cheek. At home it's a bit more, a hug for greeting with a longer kiss; leaning against each other on the couch; brushing each other's limbs when their eating dinner or cooking. In bed they keep to their own side accept if they have sex.

"I am going to ask a question that needs a completely honest answer, alright?"

"Of course." Scorpius twists his body to face him. "But is this about the trip? Did you get offered a job or something?"

"Yes, it happened during the trip, but it's not about the job." Al took a deep breath. "A few months ago a witch and her husband were killed. The two moved to Spain some time ago…We believed their deaths were part of a larger problem that had been related to wizard disappearances…"

"Al you never tell me this much about your cases."

"They had a daughter Score, we found her in a muggle orphanage with caretakers scared out of her mind because she was already exhibiting unusual behaviors." He took a deep breath. "There is no family, no one to take her and the government in Spain is being difficult."

Scorpius rubbed the shoulder the arm that was underneath him. "That's rough."

"I want to adopt her."

"What?" Scorpius pulled away from him as if he had been hexed. "Al we discussed this. We can't take care of a child right now. I'm in the in middle of school and the office is swamped, you're already working at least fifty hours a week…"

"You discussed this. It was part of your five year plan, but if you met her..." Albus looked on the verge of tears. "She is so lost and alone right now."

"How old is she?"

"Four, and the cutest child you'll ever meet. She has this odd hair color, sort of a rose gold, because it's not quite blonde, but it's nowhere near red…And her eyes! Their huge and blue like the summer sky. When we met her I played with her for bit and her laugh sounds like bells and her smile could light up the entire room…" The smile on Albus face was like he was in love. It reminded him of the photos of his father's face from the hospital, one of the few times his smile looked genuine. Or better yet, Teddy with Stella and their newest little boy, Oliver.

"I will meet her," he replied softly.

* * *

It was a week later when Scorpius finally did. They went to Spain after his mid-terms were done and they both could take a short vacation from the office. There were a few other prospective parents there, but he and Albus drew a bit of attention. Albus hadn't seemed to have aged since he was nineteen, but Scorpius did it gracefully, therefore looked every bit his age of 28 years. Still, they both appeared rather young to be looking into adoption.

"Can I help you?" one of the workers questioned when they saw Scorpius sitting at a table by himself.

"Just waiting for my partner," he responded. Scorpius felt my more comfortable calling Albus that, while Albus felt better saying the more traditional 'my husband'. "He came here a week ago and met this child…" Scorpius rubbed the back of his neck. "I think he's been ready to be a dad since we started dating."

The woman smiles knowingly. "Sometimes people are like that and sometimes people don't know until it hits them." She turned when she saw Scorpius' facial expression changing.

"What's her name?" It's Scorpius as he looks at Al. In his arms is a little girl with wide eyes clutching tightly to her brother's shirt.

"Matilda," Albus says. "Meet your papa…"

"That's hardly appropriate Al," Scorpius replied pointedly.

"There's a lot of red tape to go through, but…If you agree they said she could be a part of our family sooner rather than later."

Scorpius heart jumps a little and walks forward to place a hand on his husband's shoulder and look at the girl. She clutching on to Albus for dear life, her wide eyes have tears standing in them and he notices that Albus neglected to mention the curls she had. The poor dear looks like she's never had them brushed in her life. "It is a pleasure to meet you Miss Matilda, my name is Scorpius." He tilts his head and she does the same.

"You want to take her?" Al whispers, when he sees an affirmative reaction he looks down at the child in his arms. "Well, Matilda can your Papa take you?"

The little girl turns and holds out her arms towards Scorpius. A few moments pass before she's in his arms, being adjusted and curling against Scorpius' chest.

"Well, hello there," he says with a chuckle, looking up at his husband.

"Score, are you alright?"

Scorpius bites his lip, the worker is still watching them, but has taken a step back. Matilda has her eyes affixed to him as do a couple other children that are milling about. Scorpius can practically feel the other adults in the room staring at him. Why? Scorpius Malfoy feels as if he is going to break down in tears right there. "I love you, Al." He makes sure Matilda is secured before he wraps his arm around his partner's shoulder.

"Love you, too." Al kisses him on the cheek and Matilda curls further into his chest. They look like a family.


	18. Chapter 18

**AN: I do not speak German so I relied heavily on Google Translate. If any of you out there speak German and recognize errors/see things that would make more sense please message me or leave a review. It would be greatly appreciated.**

* * *

Lily looks down at the letter in her hand. She came to the right stadium, but does not know exactly where she's supposed to go. The language barrier has gotten worse over time and their letters are a mess of German and English. "Excuse me," she questioned, waving towards a woman with an access badge dangling around her neck.

"Wissen Sie, wo das Büro des Trainers ist?" _Do you know where the coach's office is?_ Lily questions looking at the woman.

"Who are you?" she questioned with a heavy accent. "No reporters, especially not foreigners."

"I'm meeting with David Krum."

"Oh, _oh_ …" she looked at her, clicking her tongue a few times. "Ihr seine Frau." The woman looked very excited as she looked her up and down.

"Frau?" She furrowed her eyebrows, _wife,_ the word comes to her suddenly. "No, not…" She can't think of the word for girlfriend so she holds up her hand. "Kein ehring." _No wedding ring._

"Oh, I understand." The smile doesn't leave her face. "Come, I take you to arena. Follow." She gestures and unlocks the door to let her in and take her to the door. "You find it easy."

Lily looks around. The facility does not look much different from the one in London and is reminded instantly of when she was dating Scorpius. It was mostly the same, but she didn't act the same as she did with Scorpius. Living at Durmstrang she could avoid the tabloids easily. When she was with him, the German team wasn't that popular so the coach's girlfriend didn't garner a lot of attention. They just made sure before they left for some publicized event she was dressed so she didn't attract attention. David understood her want of privacy; whereas, Scorpius saw it as a fact of life and thought it would be best to make a good impression.

Coming to the outside door she was greeted by bright light and immediately saw the players in the air. Walking this back brought her back ten years ago when she was at Hogwarts and flying out herself. David she heard before she saw him. She didn't quite understand what he was saying. With him gone, she no longer had one on one tutoring with German language. Emma, Nikolas, and Jakob helped her with Russian and now she could read the basics in it.

"Hallo, mein leibling." David waved at her before going back to them.

 _My love,_ she translated in her head looking up towards the sky. She didn't know what was going on but a bludger as flying around, one of the men didn't see it. Her eyes widened as he was knocked off getting ready to act with her hand going to her wand that as attached to her waistband.

"Stop," David ordered.

"I'm a healer, _heiler_."

"I know, but don't do anything now." His voice seems a little off, slightly more accented which is to be expected. "Go," he said once they touched down.

Lily walks over to the man that was hit by the bludger. "Hallo… Ich bin ein Heiler. Kann ich Ihre Schulter?"

"Nein…Are you Lily?" he questions, speaking slowly.

"Please, I…" She thinks about the words to say, but the ones that would make sense don't come to her. "I want to help you."

"Lily, it's fine." He turns to them and gives them instructions in fast paced German before they take off to the changing rooms. When David sees her, Lily's mouth is pursed tightly as she looks at him. "Is something the matter?"

"That's exactly how you injured your shoulder. You better than anyone else know that you have to be careful when it comes to those damn bludgers."

"Lily, it's a delicate situation. Unless he consents to it, the only person that can ask him to submit to a—"

"Physical examination is you if you believe that they have been injured. I believe he was injured!"

David sighed. "I do not wish to discuss work right now." He leaned over to give her a kiss on the cheek. "It has been much too long since I've seen you."

"I'm still angry, but I understand."

Lily let him wrap an arm around her shoulder and guide her inside, towards his office. She had been to a couple of games: one in London, and one in Bulgaria. Whenever she comes to Germany they spend most of the time at his flat or David shows her around. More often than not he is the one that comes to Durmstrang for a mini vacation. The school is isolated and the cottage peaceful.

"Let's take you to my place and then we can go get some dinner, alright?" He gives her a warm smile and pulls her a bit closer. When she doesn't object the pair start walking, David telling her some things. When they stop by the office, Lily pulls away and leans against the wall as he unlocks the door. "Look, it's a key."

It makes Lily laugh at how amused he is by muggle things. When she opens her mouth to comment further she finds herself interrupted by a load, baritone voice. "David, das ist deine Freundin?"

Lily was almost positive that he asked David if she was his girlfriend, like the woman outside he was curious. "Ja, bin ich," Lily said, taking a step forward, her head tilted as she watched David look between them before heading inside with a shrug of the shoulder.

"Es freut mich, Sie kennen zu lernen. Ich bin Oscar."

Lily tried to dismantle the sentence in her mind. She was almost positive he said, _it's nice to meet you. My name is Oscar._ The words were basic and familiar, but she wasn't used to his accent. "Lily," she said, thinking it would be easier to just say that as she held out her hand.

The man said it and gave her a wavering smile. It clicked in her head that he addressed David simply because his English was either as bad as her German or he simply didn't speak it. When David appeared with a satchel on one shoulder he talked with the man for a bit and gave him a hardy slap on the shoulder.

"Oscar told me to tell you that I'm a lucky guy, he thinks you're attractive."

Lily huffed. "I'm so mad at myself for letting my German slip, I barely know what's going on around her."

"It's fine." David gave her a smile and pulled her close. "I'll apparate us to my place, alright?" In a few moments there was a crack and soon enough they were in the lobby of his building. "It's a pretty much wizard only place, not very many flats."

Lily rolled her eyes, he explained it every time. His building was more like a renovated house. From the outside, especially to muggle eyes, it looked like a mansion. Inside it was clear that it was split up into the areas for tenants. "What is on the agenda for tonight?"

"I thought instead of our usual carry out and back at my place we would go somewhere nice to eat."

"If you want to eat somewhere _nice_ outside of London it's typically muggle, are you sure you can handle that?"

"You're the one that has been living at Durmstrang for two years," he countered as they came to the door. He used the appropriate spell and it popped open. "Besides, wizards go there all the time, and the food is supposed to be great."

"What about the wine?" Lily followed him toward the bedroom and sat down on his bed. Her bag had been delivered earlier, and was sitting against the wall.

"Excellent selections." He stripped out of the clothes he wore at the pitch and turned to look at him. Lily couldn't help but smile. If anything his physique had gotten better and she couldn't wait until they retired for the evening. One thing about David is now that they were familiar with each other, he was just as tactile as she liked to be.

"Perhaps I should change too…" She got off the bed and kicked her shoes off before grabbing the hem of her t-shirt and slowly lifting it off. Then she unbuttoned her jeans and they fell down before she stepped out of them. "I've missed this." She took a step forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Do we have to go out?"

"Yes." He kissed her lips, arms encircling her, and hands settling on the small of her back. "I have reservations and I want this to be special." He leaned down to kiss her collarbone.

Lily pushed away from him when his lips pulled away. She went over to her bag and pulled out a navy blue dress with a deep v that she loved. It was a gift from Dom and that girl certainly knew how to shop. In her bag she pulled out a necklace that David had gotten her for her birthday last year, it was a Lily made out of silver with a few glittering jewels that appeared to look like stars when the light hit them.

"Are you about ready?"

"Give me a few more moments." She pulled her hair out of the ponytail and used her wand to fix it up a bit. The flyaway hair and tangles were quickly rid of and it cascaded down her shoulders in loose waves once tamed. She reached into her purse and slid on some dark red lipstick, then added a bit of mascara. After that came the shoes. Her favorite pair of heels that were the perfect height.

"You look fantastic."

"So do you."

He was wearing a deep red button shirt tucked into straight leg pants with a slightly loosened. "Come on, we can apparate part of the way there." Once again his arm went around her and he was the one that did it. From their secluded apparition point they walked about a block forward to where the restaurant was located. There were several cars parked across the street and when they went inside she saw several people sitting at the booths waiting.

"Reservierung fur zwei, Krum," he said as he stepped up to speak with the host.

Lily tried to tune out as she conversed. The last thing she wanted was a headache from the translating. There were a few spells she could have cast, but translation spells were never very reliable. When the moved, David reached for her hand and they followed the host to their table. It was a small booth in the corner, and he let her slide in first. They sat on the same side, a bit too close for it to be deemed acceptable, but she didn't care. The only nice thing about the restaurant was that the menu was fairly easy to read. Food was something that stuck in her brain since she had frequent practice with it. After the ordered the pair set in compensable silence, discussing work and such. Lily couldn't help but notice that David seemed a bit unsettled.

"Are you alright? You seem a bit off."

He didn't answer, their food was brought and placed in front of him. After that it seemed like that plate of food was the most engrossing thing in the world to David. Lily pushed hers around the plate. It tasted amazing but when she looked at the man next to her it turned to ash. Perhaps it was finally time to part ways. It was an odd sort of send-off, but David was like that, he probably wanted to part on amiable terms. The only man she was actually able to do that with was Jordi and they had hardly ever been anything more than friends that shagged.

"This place is nice, but why did you want to come here? Usually we hit a pub." She scraped her fork against her plate and then reached for her glass of wine she'd neglected.

"I wanted to go somewhere special." He pushed away his mostly empty plate and cleared his throat. "We have been together for nearly three years, and…" He got up from his seat and then down. Down on one knee.

"No…I…"

"Lily, please, just let me speak… Ever since I first met you… I was fine having you as a friend, and when we started dating I was content, but now I just… I want more, if you'll have me." He reached into his pocket to pull out a small box that no doubt contained a ring.

"I… Let's just finish dinner…we'll talk about this later." She looked down at her plate. "Are we splitting dinner? I'll just go pay now I need some air and I can't…"

By now David had stood up and was bending over to look at his girlfriend. Lily was pale and eyes wide with fright, panicking as she tried to grab her purse and get to her feet. "Merlin… All I have is wizard's money, did you grab any muggle money? Blimey, what sort of currency do you even use here?"

"I pay, it will be fine," he murmured. "Why don't you settle down?"

Lily clenched her eyes shut, mind whirling around. It wasn't a vision, she knew that much, but she still didn't feel quite right. "Fine," she said. "But it isn't a no, David. I love you, you know that." She seemed to curl in herself. Soon a waiter came by to ask if anything was needed. He didn't pause to take them in, but came back with a box for her dinner and the folder that held the check.

David counted out a few bills, enough to cover the check, and handed it to the waiter. "Keep the change." When Lily got out of the booth they didn't touch, but followed closely. The two only held hands when David apparated them back to their place.

Once inside Lily kicked off her heels and immediately went to the bathroom. There she pulled back her hair into a loose bun at the nape of her neck and splashed water on her face. David wanted to marry her, when just an hour ago she was wondering if he wanted to break up with her. She had never gotten to this step before. With Scorpius, if they had stayed together, she would have probably married him before she finished up at the Healer Academy. Jordi and her, there was no way she could have stayed together. Michael…She tried not to think about Michael. About how for the first time someone felt so right, so safe…If only she could have mustered up the courage to tell him the truth. But she had to stop thinking about the past, had to stop comparing every relationship to David. He didn't deserve that. No, she had to live in the present, not try to manipulate the future or live based on regrets from the past.

"Sorry about that, I just needed to clear my head…" Lily looked to where David was sitting on the couch, and had traded his button up shirt and tie for a one of his team's t-shirts. His hand was clenched in a fist. She thought that was strange until she saw the little black box sitting on the table.

"Lily you don't need to apologize. You looked like you were…" He paused and looked as if he was racking his brain. "An attack of some sort…what are those called?"

"Anxiety attack?" she supplied.

"Yes, I was worried for you and frightened that I caused it."

"No… It's hard to explain." _Truth, I should tell him the truth,_ she thought. "Do you remember at Durmstrang how I always complained that there was no Divinations class? I don't know if I did it to, but I certainly spoke with the headmaster about it."

"Yes, but what…"

"Let me continue…" She took a deep breath. "When I was younger I used to have these terrible nightmares, they usually happened if my dad was in the field for extended periods of time or one of my family members got hurt…" Her words were becoming shaky so she focused more on her breathing. David placed a hand on her knee, but she knew that she could keep herself grounded. "When I started my third the dreams returned with a vengeance then I would start to feel things during the day. My hearing got all muffled and my vision started spinning, I would faint and have these vivid dreams and when I came too I hardly remembered them…"

"You're a seer?" he questioned. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Not very many people know. My parents, a handful of professors from Hogwarts and Scorpius."

"Scorpius?" His eyes widened.

"He was my best friend in school. My visions were unpredictable and he helped me with them. Now, they're mostly under control and fairly easy to manage. But the point is… Is ee things from the future and they make me apprehensive at times. I thought I was getting one tonight, but it was nothing."

"If it was nothing why did you react the way you did? I know we haven't talked about but we've been together for nearly three years and our relationship has survived two years of long distance." His hand went to her arm and the other unfurled.

"We survived long distance just dating. I just… I feel that our relationship is strong now, not despite of being married, but because we aren't. We have trust for each other and there is nothing anchoring us down but being loyal to one another. At the same time if something does happen we can walk away no strings attached."

"Lily, I will never be able to walk away from you easily."

"Of course there would be hard feelings, but there isn't a legally binding contract getting in the way."

"Getting in the way?" David looked like he was barely able to control the anger he was feeling. "Merlin, Lily I love you! Bloody hell." He pulled his hand away from her and wiped down his face once again clutching the ring tightly. It was hard to notice how easily he adopted Lily's British slang when he was unguarded. "Come here." He reached for his hand and placed the ring in her palm. "Please accept this." He takes her hands and closes them before wrapping his own around them.

"David..." She takes him in. "I…I want to, but do we need to?"

"At least take it as my promise to you."

She looked up at him.

"If you don't want to get married, we won't, but I would feel better if you at least had that." David looked at her. "Truthfully, I have a motive behind asking you. Lily, I got offered a job in America. Head coaches position to a good team, they want someone young and fresh. The owner seems to think European Quidditch has the right idea with how they train."

"That's great! You should take it."

"Yeah…" David wasn't asking her permission or even seeing how she felt about it, Lily could tell that much by the expression on his face and the tone of voice. "I want you to come with me."

It's like he punched her in the stomach. Sure, they could make due between Durmstrang and Germany just fine, but America was an ocean away. Additionally, a head coach's position meant more responsibility for him.

"You always said you didn't want to teach forever, and that you would keep on renewing your Healer's license. This is your opportunity! You could even commute to the Salem Witches Institute; it isn't far from where I'm based. There is also a number of wizarding clinics _or_ they are always searching for Healers for the Quidditch teams."

His eyes were wide with hope and Lily looked down at the ring in her palm. It was gorgeous antique silver, darker than normal, and did not look like a typical engagement ring. A round cut emerald was in the center with two crossed lines of smaller emeralds all situated on a band that looked like intertwined vines. "It will be a promise, but I want to get you a ring to, for it to be my promise." She swallowed and got closer to him. "If we get married I just want it to be the two of us, there will be no extravagant wedding."

David didn't say anything, just wrapped his strong arms around her. Before Lily knew what hit her, she felt the tears drip down her face. This was the next big step, instead of thinking about themselves about individuals, David saw them as partners: a team that moved forward together. Lily realized how selfish she had been. For a while it was okay; she had to think of herself first, be happy with who she was before she added someone else into the equation. Now, with David, it feels right to be someone's partner.


	19. Chapter 19

**AN: Just a note before you read, I didn't put good transitional things in here, but Scorpius and Albus' timeline takes place in late fall/winter. Lily and David's story-when Lily visits him in Germany-is just after school gets out in June, the marriage scene is end of June. The family gathering takes place sometime in July.**

 **This is the last chapter. I am contemplating putting out an epilogue, it will take me a bit to write, but not as long as the hiatus before. This story took a different direction, I know, but I planned that all along. My favorite stories to read are ones that aren't necessarily a happy ending, and the ending for this was planned out before I even wrote the first chapter of 'Till the Wind Sets You Free'. I am posting the lyrics from an excerpt of 'Paper Moon' at the bottom. The one I listen to was sung by Ella Fitzgerald and you can find it on Youtube. Please review!**

* * *

Two weeks later, Lily was wearing her favorite mint green sundress, something she bought a year ago. David was dressed in a white button down with the sleeves rolled up, dark jeans and tie that stripes similar to the color of her dress. "Are you sure about this?" he questioned looking at Lily as they stood outside the courthouse. "I mean two weeks ago you said 'no' flat out to marriage."

"David you're not helping your case." Lily looked down at the documents in her hand, her passport and all the things they required. There were a few more hoops to jump through, neither of them being a citizen of Germany. Lily had not lived in Britain for four years, and David had been in resident in…Durmstrang? It rested pretty close to the border between Norway and Sweden. "I want to get married before we move to America, I'm a bit traditional."

"We've already lived together." David barely contained an eye roll.

"But this will be for real. We won't be roommates, it will be _ours_." Lily gave him a smile, she had applied to several jobs and had heard back from one already. They were looking for a house, a real house. Not a cottage or a flat, but a nice house. A starter home, even though Lily insisted that children were not necessary, and that she didn't particularly want them.

"Ours, I like the sound of that." He reached for her hand and interlocked her fingers. As he did this the silver of his ring gleamed in the sun. "Come on."

They went up the steps and waited in line, David doing most of the talking as they stood there, but making sure they got someone to officiate that could speak English. Soon enough they were standing in front of an older muggle man with crinkles around his eyes and a smile that reminded her of her Grandpa Weasley's. "Are the two of you ready?"

"Yes," Lily said, looking at David who only nodded mutely.

"There are the witnesses in the back." He stood up a little straighter as she saw the two office workers there. "Alright, let us begin."

They opted for traditional, non-religious vows that were common to the UK. David was fine with them, said they were similar to the American ones his parents recited in their vow renewal. The two clasped hands and recited the vows each in turn. After they did that they two looked at each other. David rested one hand on her face and they leaned in. The kiss was chaste and short. When they pulled away, though, they smiled as if they had done much more.

"You are now husband and wife."

"You are lovely Ms. Potter," David said.

Lily rolled her eyes and hugged him tightly. He was not perfect, but he was hers and he was just right for her. Not taking his last name was not even discussed after she said she would like to keep hers without a hyphen. It wasn't that she didn't want to, it was that it was a smarter decisions. Being Lily Potter, for better or worse, was a large part of her identity. For many years she would have jumped at the chance to become anonymous with any old last name, but now she realized how much she wanted to keep it.

"Let's go get dinner to celebrate, but I get to pick the place," she teased. "Does it have to fancy?"

"No, there's a lot of great pubs."

"Do you remember to the first one you took me to in Germany? Can we go there?"

"Of course." He slid an arm around her pulling her close. The apparition trip always went smoother when David did it. Things seemed better when they were together instead of in opposite countries.

* * *

Scorpius and Albus were running late. As much as he hated to blame his little darling, Scorpius knew that it was Matilda that caused this mess. She was hard to get around sometime and Papa was the one designated to help with her hair while Daddy was the one supposed to get her outfit ready. Albus could never dress himself properly, but Matilda was never allowed out of the house looking less than perfect. Unless, of course, she stated that she wanted dress _herself_. That always ended up with a tutu with colorful striped tights, ankle boots, polka dot shirt, and headband with a big bow on it.

"Will I see Auntie Lily today?" she questioned examined her hair carefully while she was perched on the counter.

Merlin, Scorpius hated her hair. It was thick and wavy. Currently he was working on some sort of braided headband Bea had told him about in the front. In the back he was going to do a fishtail braid, partly because it looked much nicer than a normal braid.

"Found her sandles." Albus waltzed in with a pair of white leather flip flops. "Do you like this better Mattie?"

"Yeah, but Papa didn't answer my question."

"Sorry, sweet pea, I was trying to make your hair look just as pretty as the rest of you." He pressed a kiss on her cheek. "Thanks, babe." Scorpius stepped away as Albus put them on her wiggling feet. "What was your question?"

"Is Auntie Lily coming?"

"Is she?" Scorpius questioned looking at husband who looked like he was suspiciously avoiding eye contact.

"Yes, and she is bringing David as well. Do you remember David?"

"He helped me fly!" she exclaimed. "I like him."

"Good. Are the two of you about ready?"

"I was going to the back of her hair…" Scorpius said as their daughter twisted. "I'll just do a simple braid, we're running out of time, right?"

"Yeah, we were supposed to have left about ten minutes ago." Albus said this with humor in his voice. "Are _you_ all ready to go?"

"Yes." Scorpius looked at what Albus seemed to be so amused about, he had one of Matilda's fancy hair ties on his wrist but other than that…He looked down at his feet and saw there were no shoes. "Can you grab the brownies from the kitchen? I'll find my shoes." He looked at his daughter. "Are you ready now? Hair feel good, shoes tight?"

"Check and check," Matilda said with a nod before lifting up her arms.

"Aren't you getting a little old for this?" He hoisted her up and she latched on to her side. "I need to find my shoes, sweet pea."

"I can help." She gave him the most darling smile, but Scorpius set his daughter down anyway. "Make sure Daddy doesn't snack on the brownies, I'll be down in a minute."

He heard the scurry of little feet and being alone for a few moments to catch his breath. It was no secret he and Lily did not get along well. Despite their relationship ending on bad terms, they had been able to patch things up. He ruined it thought by lecturing about David, but seeing the tattoo on his wrist made him seethe. It was hard to view Lily as anything but that girl he found in the common room. Admittedly, even after dating her he still saw her as someone to protect, even if he knew she could do the task herself.

He'd have to be civil. Matilda was, in his opinion, the best child he had the pleasure of meeting. That being said she was extremely impressionable. So, after slipping on his shoes, he took a couple of deep breaths before heading downstairs to where his husband stood with his daughter. Matilda was wearing a lavender sundress and twirling around in it. A carefree, joyful nature that Scorpius never possessed as a child and one that Albus did on rare occasions.

"Are you apparating with Daddy?" Scorpius waited for a nod before watching them disappear and then following shortly after. In no time the trio was on the doorstep of the Burrow and walked right in, as they probably would never be heard over the noise. Molly and Arthur demanded that at least once during the summer that everyone got together; just coming for Christmas wasn't good enough. Since Albus and Scorpius lived close by they dropped by as frequently as they could, Matilda adored Arthur and he was a saving grace when she was transitioning to wizarding life even at the young age of 4. Although Draco and Astoria tried to be supportive, it was still an odd situation for them. Scorpius was the first Malfoy to ever show interest in the same sex, he was also the first one that the heir produced would not be biological. But Matilda was not something he would trade for the world.

"Come on Score." Al clapped him on the shoulder and Matilda danced between them, reaching for his hand as they walked inside. Everyone was there, including Charlie who was sitting on the couch with a bottle of beer in one hand as he talked to two of his brothers.

"Auntie Lily!" Matilda broke free from Scorpius before he could warn her to mind her manners. He was about ready to follow her, but Al grabbed him.

"Let her go, she's fine at the Burrow and I guarantee you she's better behaved than most children that walked through these doors." He took a step closer and lowered his voice. "James was a little shit and Grandma Weasley said that only behaved children she had after Percy was my dad."

"Your dad wasn't—"

"He basically was…" Albus shrugged. "Molly has a thing for taking in strays, once you're part of this family you don't leave." He pointed to the corner where Lucy and Lorcan stood, hands intertwined. They were expecting an engagement party invitation any time soon. "I thought everyone told you that." Albus wrapped an arm around him and kissed him, as the pair watched from the distance.

"Sorry, I haven't been around more sweetie." Lily hugged Matilda tightly. Merlin, she had changed since Scorpius last saw him. She looked more the part of school age babysitter than her aunt. Her hair was piled atop her hair in a messy bun, sun glasses perched there, tangled up. She wore extremely short jean shorts with a flowy black tank top and a pair of flip flops. With so much of her upper body exposed he saw new tattoos peeking out. What appeared to be the phases of the moon dotted the left side of her collarbone and on her right shoulder blade appeared to be an interesting bit of scenery…was it Hogwarts' lake? "Scorpius, Al, I was just talking to Mattie, are those your brownies Al? The ones that Molly said were better than hers?"

"I have the best helper, though, so it's not really fair." Albus gave his husband a kiss before pulling away. "Mattie do you want to bring these to the kitchen with me?"

Scorpius knew it was a ploy to get him to talk with Lily, because their daughter went to his side and practically danced the whole way to the kitchen. "Good to see you Lily, you're looking good."

"I feel good, thanks." She lifted her left hand to tuck away a hair and he caught sight of a band on her ring finger. A beautiful glinting ring rested there now.

"I like…" He gestured to his collarbone and then pointed at her.

"Oh, I've had this for about a year. It was painful, but David helped me through it." She looked down at her feet. "Matilda is great. I never wanted kids, but if they would turn out like her then I wouldn't be against it."

"Thank you, but Al does half the work. I wouldn't have even adopted her if he hadn't pushed."

"She adores you. You also apparently have a gift for hair, I wish I could do it as well as you."

"Thank you once again Lily, but I could not have the Malfoy heir looking as if her hair got stuck in a…what's that muggle contraption that sucks dirt off the floor called?"

"Vacuum," she supplied with a grin on her face as she looked around. Soon, David appeared beside her, handing her a paper cup. "Thanks."

As Scorpius watched he saw a ring resting on David's hand as well. A simple silver band rested there just like Albus' and Scorpius' rings on their finger. "I don't know if you were waiting to tell everyone, but are the two of you…" He gestured in the air.

"We got married a few weeks ago," Lily said softly. "We told our parents we were doing it."

Scorpius could not believe the casual tone she used as she talked about it. "Congratulations…That's amazing."

"We've been busy and we wanted to get it down. Neither us wanted something extravagant… Our families are important, but it was more of a promise to each other than anything else." With her free hand she reached for David to lace them together. "It was great talking to you."

"Yeah."

David pulled away and whispered something to Lily before walking over to James and greeting him with enthusiasm. Quidditch buddies, Scorpius surmised. If he had actually been a decent human being to him, than perhaps they would be getting along.

"It looks like you want to say something else?"

"I want to speak with you, if that's alright."

"We're talking now."  
"Alone," he said lowing his voice. "I just want to…clear the air."

"Oh, uh David and I are staying at mum and dad's house. If you can come over after dinner here we could talk in the garden."

"Sounds good, I better go…" Scorpius retreated into the crowd with his polite smile on his face as he walked around greeting the family that technically wasn't his, but still welcomed him with open arms.

Lily had no idea why Scorpius wanted to speak with her. She and David had a lot to sort before they moved to America at the end of September. The Quidditch team was starting up around then and her job began half way through October. One of the healers was transferring to a different hospital so there wouldn't be a vacancy until then, but they seemed delighted to have Lily coming.

"Lily, I have one more box for you to sort through," Ginny said as she walked into her room. With her leaving the country and getting her own house it was time to take all of her belongings with her like James and Albus already did. "It's fairly old, and you told me to throw it, but I thought you might have changed your mind." She set the box down and sat on the floor beside her daughter, waiting for her to open it.

The first thing she saw was a small silk drawstring bag. When she poured out the contents a silver moon necklace fell out along with a watch. "You kept all of it."

"I forgot that we had it in the attic, but when I was looking for some of your old textbooks I found and thought it was a bit inappropriate of a time to give you… It was right around when Albus and Scorpius got together."  
"Why didn't you get rid of it when I told you to?"

"Because this box holds a lot of memories. Scorpius and you were inseparable for eight years."

"What else is in here?" She tried to push the thoughts out of her mind as she saw the evening gowns neatly placed inside. "Oh… I don't need these anymore." Her fingers ran over the silver gown and instantly she is transported back to that night.

"Lily, your dad wanted to know…" David stops in his tracks when he sees his wife next to her mother on the floor, clutching a dress. "Are you alright?"

"Perfectly fine."

"I didn't know you had these. You should keep a few, there are some events I have to go to that are black tie, it would be prudent to have gowns."

Lily knew they would still fit. She hadn't grown that much since she wore them last. Besides they were gowns made for witches so they were easy to tailor and let out. "None of them would fit," Lily lied. "What did dad want?"

"To tell you that Scorpius is here." He had a frown on his face. "Did you know he was coming?"

Lily got to her feet, looking at her mother. "Of course, he wanted to speak with me." She tried to play it off like nothing, but the last time Scorpius and her just talked it ended with a screaming match in the kitchen. "I'll be fine." She kissed David on the cheek and then turned to her mother. "Really, mum, thanks, but you can get rid of everything in that box."

Downstairs Scorpius was chatting with his father, the two of them looked serious and Lily guessed it was Ministry business by the file that was in her father's hands. She cleared her throat and they turned.

"Right, it's a weekend, Al will probably hex me if he finds out I tried to rope you into working when you should be spending time with him and Mattie."

"Yes." Scorpius laughed. "I just stopped by to talk with Lily."

"We'll be in the backyard if you need us." Lily motioned for Scorpius to follow and went outside to sit on the bench where he sat down beside her. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I just wanted to apologize for my actions previously. Lily, as much as I hate to admit it, you were my friend first. My friend who was basically a sister when I saw David alarm bells went off in my head. It reminded me of Al and Vince."

"Vince was a great guy," she said.

"That broke Al's heart and to this day he still doesn't speak of him." He looked down at his feet. "I feel as though the same thing happened to us. It is odd that I married your brother, but Al…"

"Al and you are much better for each other than you and I ever were," Lily said. "When I was fifteen I needed someone to protect me, and… It's not healthy to _need_ someone in a relationship. To want them there? Yes. To have their support? Yes. But the way we were… In another time or place perhaps it could have worked."

"Do you know the myth that sprouted the idea of soulmates?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"I am not usually one for sentiment, but I read it somewhere when Al was looking up age appropriate Greet myths to tell Matilda. But I digress… Anyway it was sad that humans used to have four arms, four legs, two heads, two hearts and they were extremely powerful. Zeus felt threatened and split them up, leaving everyone to search for their other half."  
"Oh, but I still don't understand…"

"I'm not saying we were soulmates Lily, but what I am saying is that soulmates sound very plausible but not everyone finds them. Sometimes when you find them it's too late or you find them too early or at the wrong time…Perhaps you are never met to marry them or love them romantically because the pair only needs friendship."

"Scorpius, I should leave."

"Wait, I just wanted to tell you that I'm happy for you. Dom said that you were moving to the United States with David."

"Yeah, I got a job at a clinic and David has a head coaching position."

"The two of you seem happy together. It just seems—"

"It was easier if the two of us were married when we got there for all the legal issues."

"I mean going to the United States, I thought you liked teaching at Durmstrang."

"I didn't want to be a professor for the rest of my life. If I didn't go with him now… We survived long distance for two years with me at Durmstrang and him in Germany, but America is an entire ocean away. He'll be busy with press conferences, practices, games, and traveling… While he'll try to make time, there isn't enough time in the day to travel between continents."

"Matilda will miss you," he said softly. "With Al and I she doesn't get frequent interaction with women and for some reason she latched on to you. After last Christmas she wanted to know when Auntie Lily was coming by again."

"I'm sure if you brought her to work Aunt Mione wouldn't mind seeing her. You know that Teddy and Vicky would love babysitting."

"She loves Teddy too, but it's kind of hard not to."

"He was my favorite brother growing up. I mean Al was pretty great, but Teddy was the coolest." Lily was referring to him being a metamorphagus. "You and Al make good parents though, Mattie is lucky to have you guys."

"Thank you. Would you mind if I gave you a hug? I feel as though this will be the last time I see you."

"Yeah." They both stood up and Lily wrapped her arms around Scorpius. Around the man she always used to take comfort in. It seemed longer than appropriate but they both held on. This was their official goodbye, an apology, a statement of forgiveness… When they finally pulled apart the pair did not say a word. Lily wrapped one arm around herself and the other went to her mouth as she tried to stifle the sound of a sob coming out of her mouth.

"Lily, I saw Scorpius leave are you…" He walked over and looked at her.

"I'm happy," she said. "Truthfully." She wiped away a tear that had fallen down her face. "I love you, David."

"I love you, too." He looked confused, especially when Lily hugged him tightly. But now she knew she was doing the right thing. She loved David and she didn't need a vision to see that they would be together in the future. With Scorpius it was dangerous, she depended on him so much and saw him so perfect…But when she realized he needed help he was so used to being the one that caught her, he wouldn't trust her to do the same. David she saw as a real person a man that she knew was impossibly kind with a hands that wished to hold all the pain in the world, but he still had flaws. Imperfections that he showed to Lily when she showed him hers. There was no such thing as a perfect man or husband or boyfriend it had taken her more than 26 years to figure that out. To continuously search for one was to construct a paper moon above a cardboard sea always comparing the real one to it, ignoring just how beautiful the real one was. Scorpius was her paper moon and David was the one in the sky.

* * *

You say it's only a paper moon  
Sailing over a cardboard sea  
But it wouldn't be make believe if you believed in me  
Yes, its only a canvas sky  
Hanging over a muslin tree  
But it wouldn't be make-believe if you believed in me

 **AN: Just a note on the interrpretation, I have it a little off from the direct one from the song. The song is essentially saying without love things are fake or seem artificial, that is what I think at least. For the premise of the story, Lily's love with Scorpius is trying to create something that's perfect, the paper moon made to look beautiful, whereas with David it's recognizing that's what's out there in the original form is enough.**


	20. Epilogue

Contrary to Lily's belief, the Potter-Malfoy household was chaotic. Her mouth nearly dropped at the state that it was in. Of course it was not messy, Merlin forbid, but it was not at all what she was used to. Albus was not the neatest person alive, but he had been transformed after being married to Scorpius for thirteen years. Scorpius was a Malfoy and some habits engrained into his nature would never leave him. One of those being that every object had a place and everybody had to be maintain an orderly appearance.

"What happened here?" Lily asked when her brother met her at the door, pulling her into a hug.

"What are you talking about?" When Albus turned away he went to give David a hug as well who stood behind Lily.

"Uncle Score is anal retentive," a small voice popped up.

"Now, Nikolai..." Lily said, placing a hand on hand on her son's shoulder.

"Leave, Kolya alone." David stepped forward. "He mimics almost everything his mother says," he said to Albus with a roll of his eyes.

"What kind of name is Kolya?" Another boy came forward,

"Lewis." Scorpius appeared, coming up behind his son. "You know your Uncle David is from Bulgaria, it is a diminutive form of Nikolai, very common in countries whose languages have a Slavic origin." Scorpius looked up. The man had aged gracefully, dressed in a charcoal suit with mint green shirt that made his grey eyes stand out. His hair had thinned a bit, but was still bright blond. "Am I correct?"

"Yes, why don't you play with your cousin? We have a bit of time before we catch the train." David looked up at the two men and then nodded before the three urged the two boys to go off. "Where is Mattie?"

"Getting ready and you better refer to her as _Matilda_ now," Albus said. "Teenagers."

"How old is she? 17 now, right?" Lily inquired.

"Yeah." Albus nodded. "Come on, we can have tea while we wait to go to the train station."

The house had photographs all over the wall along with art projects from Matilda and Lewis' younger years. Lewis had been adopted two years after his sister. In fact it was right around the time that Lily found out she was pregnant. David and her had sex without a condom, foolishly thinking that her muggle birth control she had just started taking would be enough.

"You never did tell us why you decided to have Kolya sent to Hogwarts," Albus said as she set down the pot of tea.

Lily shrugged her shoulders as she added sugar to it. She'd been in the UK for about two weeks, making a trip out of it. David came a week ago once he was able to take time off. She'd bounced around from relative's houses, but ended up Al and Score's house last. The pair would stay with them a few days after the kids went back to school. The two were sending off their kids to Hogwarts as well and thought it be nice to carpool and for the Kolya to know someone before he left. Lewis practically worked at the Ministry as well, he spent quite a bit of time there with his two dad's and as a result met many of the kids that would be attending Hogwarts.

"We decided it would be the best environment for him."

"You know how American's can be and I don't agree with their teaching style," Lily explained. "The Salem Witches Institute has roots in traditional magic education, but only witches are allowed to attend. The American Institute of Magic is integrative to the point it is hindering. Kolya's been in a muggle school since he was four, it's time for him to connect with magic."

"Will it be a culture shock?" Scorpius questioned. He always found it so humorous that a British mother and Bulgarian father that now both spoke fluent German raised their child in America with what he assumed was a Russian name.

"He comes here often enough. We thought about sending him to Durmstrang as they have a good language program and he's always been interested, but…" Lily looked into her cup of tea. "He's half Potter and quite frankly he has no idea what that means." She thought about growing up and her father being over protective. All Nikolai knows is that his grandfather and great aunts and uncles were involved in the war. He knows that Grandpa Harry is some sort of war hero, him and Uncle Ron and Aunt Mione were as well. There was so much Lily herself did not learn about the war until later and it was still hard to wrap her mind around. Nikolai had been protected with his anonymity in America for so long. It was time to end that.

"That ended so well for you," Scorpius commented dryly.

Lily was about to open her mouth but she saw her brother's hand move to what she assumed was his husband's knee. "The two of you are so perfect," she muttered, at this David's hand went to her knee as well.

"What's that supposed to mean? Albus and I have raised our children to the best of our abilities," Scorpius said.

"Nothing." Lily bit back another comment and instead took a drink of tea. Matilda was a wonderful girl, well young woman, but Scorpius was fiercely protective of his daughter. The girl was more sheltered than Lily had been, heck probably more sheltered than her mother with her six older brothers. "Perhaps next summer Matilda could come to our house, we keep on inviting people over but no one comes." It was no secret that Lily adored her niece.

Scorpius rolled his eyes and opened his mouth, but Albus was quicker. "That would be fine, but she's not a little girl. Most 17 year olds would rather be with their friends. If Matilda's not working then she'll be probably be on a trip with her friends. Stella and her were talking about France, right?"

"Let's not be hasty, perhaps a trip to Lily and David's would be good," Albus suggested.

"You're going to America? Weren't you the one that said they had a vulgar sense of humor?" Matilda waltzed in wearing a dark blue dress with her prefect badge pinned to it. Lily had heard that Hogwarts had gotten more lax about uniforms, besides she was in Ravenclaw after all. As long as students kept their grades up they could hardly care what else they were up to.

"I believe I said that once, are you about packed?"

"Papa, do you know where my lipstick is?" she questioned with a frown on her face. "The red one in a gold tube?"

"Did you leave it in the bag you took to Grandma Molly's?" he questioned.

"I suppose so…" She walked further into the kitchen and stopped by her aunt and uncle. "It's nice to see you Aunt Lily, Uncle David. Is Kolya here?" She gave them each a side hug in turn.

"With Lewis, your father sent them to play," David informed her.

"To play?" She stood up, her eyebrows raising. "Dad, Papa, they are 11. If the two of them aren't at each other's throats then they are wreaking havoc and we need to be at the train station in an hour." The girl rested her hands on her hips. "I can't be late."

"We know," Albus said. "Find your lipstick and we'll get a handle on your brother."

"I can do that." Scorpius rose from his seat and headed. "Lily, do you want to help Albus with the expansion charm on the car?"

"Of course."

"David, walk with me, I wanted to ask you a question." Scorpius gestured and led the large man out of the room as the siblings left.

* * *

The family poured out of the car. Lily felt slightly paranoid, but enough time had passed and the Potter family had feel out of interest finally. Once in a while the newspapers would run something when there wasn't any other noteworthy news. Albus and Scorpius were much more interesting anyway. The pair was seen as turning all the traditions of purebloods on their head. Lily and David were a token couple, a success story that followed a normal path: career, marriage, and then kids.

"James and Bea should be here. Their son is thirteen now," Albus said as he watched the kids. Matilda teetered on a pair of wedges as she tried to maneuver a trunk, she hardly moved forward before a young man with a red and gold prefect's badge affixed to a button up shirt appeared. His hair was messed to perfection and had one of those lopsided smiles. The musical laugh and Matilda's hand placed on his arm was enough to realize that Scorpius and Albus hadn't kept her as sheltered as Lily first imagined.

"Who's that?"

"McLagan's his last name," Scorpius grumbled. "He's so charming, it's disgusting. She's in Ravenclaw, isn't she supposed to be focused on her studies?"

Lily almost had to bite her cheek to hold in laughter. Granted, she didn't have the fashion sense of her niece, but she had been much the same as her. "I think you need to trust your clearly capable young daughter." She then looked to her son, who was struggling to push his cart, tagging behind Lewis who was clear being raised with Astoria Malfoy as his Grandmother was having his side effects. Every bit of him screamed the Slytherin student her head of house so desperately wanted. From his perfect posture to spotless clothes and immaculate hair... She wondered about her son, raised without the stigma of houses. David didn't go to Hogwarts either. None of the witches and wizards Nikolai grew up around—save for the Potter family—went there. He'd heard a few stories from Lily and her family, but that was it.

"She seems like she has a good head on her shoulders," David commented. "Come on." He wrapped an arm around Lily, but she was the one that led them through the brick wall and down to wait on the platform. Instantly she was transported back and she saw many new faces, but some familiar ones as well. "Are you alright?" David whispered.

"Fine." A smile crossed her face as her son came in front of her. "Looks like it's time to leave." Lily crouched down to his level, gripping his shoulders. "Are you scared?"

"A little," he said.

"Oh…" Lily wrapped in her arms, as tight as she could. "We will miss you Kolya, but we're only a letter away and you'll see us at Holidays."

"And you have family here." David crouched down as well.

"Is everyone going to be like Mattie and Lewis?" he whispered.

"No." Lily let out a laugh. "You'll make lots of friends. Hogwarts is going to become a home away from home, I promise you that." She leaned forward to press a kiss to his forehead, something she had not done in years.

"Mom…" He groaned and went to wipe it away. "Everyone is watching!"

Lily blinked away tears as her and David rose. "I love you, Kolya," she whispered. "You better head to the train if you want to get a compartment."

"Yeah, I… I'll miss you." He hugged Lily again and then went to David. "They better win, I'll be rooting for you even if I'm stuck over here. Do I have to drink tea?"

"Now, you're just stalling." Lily ruffled his hair. " _Go_." She wrapped her arms around her husband as she saw him go towards the train with a trunk too large for his small body. David ran a hand through her hair, but didn't say a much.

When the two pulled away, Lily grabbed his hand and looked at him: "Aller Anfang ist schwer," she said.

"What does that mean?" Albus questioned.

"All beginnings are hard," David said. "I think it's fitting."

"The endings aren't much easier," Scorpius said.

"But they are the start of something," Lily retorted, her hand squeezing her husband's tighter. "Let's get something to eat, I haven't been back in London for a while."

David tugged her close, an arm circling her narrow shoulders. "Glad to be home?" he questioned as they began to walk, Scorpius and Albus taking the lead.

"Home?" Lily furrowed her eyebrows. "England hasn't been my home for years." She smiled at him. "You and Nikolai are my home now."

"Then a part of you will leave in England," he teased kissed her cheek.

Lily gave him a smile and then looked at Scorpius and Albus. The pair was discussing something, Scorpius looked annoyed and Albus glared at him. The next thing you knew Scorpius touched his arm and Albus said something that made the two of them laugh. Scorpius and her had each chosen the right path. All was well.


End file.
